Time: June 4, 2026, 10:00–11:30

Location: Room E106, Lijiao Building, BNU Zhuhai Campus 

Online Meeting ID: Tencent Meeting 611769297 

Theme: Locational choice of China's OFDI in disaster-prone destinations: Empirical evidence from 148 countries, 2003-2020 

Speaker：Zhao Hongjun, Vice Dean and Professor at the School of Business, Shanghai Normal University

Host: Pompeo Della Posta, Professor at the Belt and Road School of BNU

Speaker Biography:

Professor Hongjun Zhao, PhD supervisor, Associate Dean, School of Finance and Business, Shanghai Normal University. He Held an Oriental Elite Professor in Shanghai since 2023, a Shuguang Scholar in Shanghai in 2008, a Pujiang Scholar in 2009. His research field cover regional economics, development economics and institutional economics. He has published English papers in international peer reviewed journals such as International Review of Economics and Finance, Spatial Economic Analysis, Journal of Asian Economics, Review of Development Economics. He published English monograph China's Long Term Economic Development, How Have Economy and Governance Evovled since 500BC,  Edward Elgar, 2018, and 10 more Chinese monographs in Key Chinese Publishers.

Content Introduction：

In the past two decades, the rapid rise of China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has attracted academic discussion. Based on China’s OFDI in 148 disaster-prone countries or regions during 2003–2020, this study examines how state capacity mitigates the side effects of natural disasters on China’s OFDI. We find that the mitigating effect works through three mechanisms: effective regulatory frameworks, robust law enforcement, and high-quality physical infrastructure. Furthermore, this mitigation is particularly strong in the years immediately following a disaster, especially in flood-prone areas and among countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. This study demonstrates the universality of China’s OFDI location choice and adds new evidence regarding China’s OFDI location choices in an uncertain world.