This paper investigates the location strategies of Chinese energy firms over the period 2003–2013. The results confirm that market-seeking and resource-seeking are two significant motivations behind Chinese energy firms’ outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). As expected, a higher level of the host country’s energy resource reserves attracts more energy resource related projects and the host country’s renewable energy output influences Chinese firms’ renewable energy investment. However, for OFDI in energy resources, the political stability of the host country is not a significant factor while when investing in renewable energy, it is a significant consideration. Interestingly, for OFDI in energy resources, trade integration measured by the share of exports sold in the host country in China’s total exports, is not statistically significant while for OFDI in renewable energy, trade integration affects the investment decision.