This study aims to examine how systemic constraints such as external pressures from other major powers from the traditional West shape Chinese engagement in Ethiopia, as well as how Chinese alignment with BRICS aims might shape their approach. The factor of the Ethiopian domestic landscape is also strived to be analysed, since the study aims to address how the domestic factors of Ethiopia shape the conditions of Chinese investment strategies. The study uses the theoretical framework of neoclassical realism to determine how the interplay between systemic constraints and domestic factors shape the Chinese behaviour in Ethiopia. The study applies a mixed methodical framework of quantitative descriptive statistics and a qualitative case study to interpret the numerical data through the theoretical framework. The result of the study shows that there are several pressures that can be classified as shaping Chinese investment strategies in Ethiopia due to their lower amount of relative power capabilities compared to the U.S, and that the domestic factors of Ethiopia lay the conditions for Chinese engagement due to the positive public opinion of the Chinese economic activities, and examines whether the rates of low political stability affects the Chinese approach.