Abstract: By referring to the ideas and methods of the convergence hypothesis in the classical economic growth theory, this article applies the provincial panel data model to study the convergence of China’s regional outward foreign direct investment. The results of the study show that the outward foreign direct investments of the whole country and all the clubs have demonstrated a dynamic evolvement rule of “general convergence and partial differentiation”. As for σ convergence, there is σ convergence on the national level and in the central region, the eastern region has no obvious trend of σ convergence, while in the western region it tends to diffuse. As for β convergence, the whole country and the eastern and central regions have shown an absolute convergence, while the western region has not. Generally speaking, the industrial level and the opening to the outside world have a significant impact on the β conditional convergence of the whole country and the three regions.

Key words: outward foreign direct investment; regional difference; convergence