BRI investments hit new high

Beijing pumps in funds into green energy, technology sectors, report says

Chinese construction contracts and investments in the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative totaled $124 billion in the first half of this year, higher than the $122-billion full-year figure in 2024, and hitting an all-time high, according to a latest report.

Experts from Green Finance &Development Center at the Fanhai International School of Finance, or FISF, at Fudan University in Shanghai and Australia-based Griffith University, who jointly released the report on Thursday, said China's energy-related engagement in the BRI countries also touched a new record of $42 billion during the first six months of 2025, spiking 100 percent year-on-year. This can be further broken down into $9.7 billion in green sectors of wind, solar and waste-to-energy — also the highest half-year figure since BRI's inception in 2013.

On top of that, China has helped to install 11.9 gigawatts of green energy among BRI countries in the first six months. Construction projects related to green energy, including hydropower, were valued at $5.7 billion in the first half of this year, up from $4.4 billion in the same period of 2024. Looking at investments only, Chinese green energy and hydropower investments reached $3.1 billion in the first half of 2025, up from $1.3 billion during the same period last year.