Abstract: By making use of the data of 1350 OFDI events of China's 512 A-share listed companies in equipment manufacturing industry from 2010 to 2018, this study employs a Logit model to conduct an empirical examination of the impact of culture differences between China and the host countries on the choice of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) modes for China's equipment manufacturing enterprises (CEMEs) as well as the moderating effect of the“Belt and Road”initiative on the influence of cultural differences on the choice of OFDI modes by China's enterprises. The research results show that the greater the culture differences are, the more CEMEs inclined to choose cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBMAs); the smaller the culture differences are, the more CMMEs inclined to choose greenfield investments. The countries along the B&R route and the signing of B&R cooperation documents (BRCDs) have a positive moderating effect on the promotion of China's CEMEs choosing greenfield investments by cultural differences. The impact of culture differences on China's non-state-owned CEMEs choosing greenfield investments is more prominent among the countries of signing BRCDs. The signing of BRCDs between non-Asian countries and China will help to weaken the negative impact of cultural differences on China's CEMEs choosing greenfield investments.

Key words: the“Belt and Road”Initiative, outward foreign direct investment, culture differences, greenfield investments, equipment manufacturing industry