The Effect of Global Value Chain Participation and Position on Energy Efficiency in Belt and Road Countries

Abstract

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by the People’s Republic of China, (PRC) has been noted by several scholars to be a massive project aimed at enhancing the Eurasian trade network. Some stakeholders have noted that the program appears to be altruistic. Although partner countries and the PRC both stand to gain from the program, it still leaves doubt in some scholars’ minds about the PRC’s main aim. This, to a large extent, could be one major factor why some European countries were slow to accept the program. However, it does not negate the fact that the program came when several European countries were in search of investments to lift their economies. The current study seeks to add to the pioneering body of literature on the BRI by focusing on a sample of 36 European countries and evaluating their global value chain (GVC) participation and positions before and after the BRI, and the impact on energy efficiency investment. The result shows an even GVC participation by most European countries before the BRI. There were negative and positive position indices of the GVCs after the BRI with a negative dominance. The dominant negative positions could be as a result of the initiative still being in its early stages; considering that a number of European countries were slow to adopt the BRI projects. The result showed no statistically significant prediction of the GVC participation in energy efficiency investment both before and after the BRI. The chapter provides policy recommendations on fostering the energy efficiency and green investments in BRI European countries.