Foreign direct investment, development strategy, and green innovation

In developing countries, foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a significant role in industrial catch-up concerning knowledge acquisition and technological innovation. The Chinese government's development strategy is vital in attracting FDI and green innovation (GI). This article investigates the moderating role of development strategy in the causal relationship between FDI and GI from the perspective of new structural economics. We find a U-shaped association between FDI and GI. Specifically, FDI inhibits GI at its low level, and FDI promotes GI with the accumulation of FDI capital. Therefore, cities with moderate catch-up strategies can maximize the impact of FDI on GI. Development strategies can also hinder the effects of FDI-driven GI in cities with a perfect market system while promoting them in cities with relatively backward, cleaner production technology. The development strategy not only has an impact on the FDI-driven GI effects in the region but also on the FDI-driven GI effects in the surrounding regions through the spatial spillover effect. These findings provide references on what type of FDI the government should introduce and how to guide the market to bring the GI effect of FDI into play.