Which Countries Does China Favor With Its Foreign “Aid”?
China gives aid mainly to Africa, but commercial interests are more geographically dispersed
Top 10 Recipients of Chinese ODA:
- Cuba ($6.7 billion)
- Cote d’Ivoire ($4.0 billion)
- Ethiopia ($3.7 billion)
- Zimbabwe ($3.6 billion)
- Cameroon ($3.4 billion)
- Nigeria ($3.1 billion)
- Tanzania ($3.0 billion)
- Cambodia ($3.0 billion)
- Sri Lanka ($2.8 billion)
- Ghana ($2.5 billion
Top 10 Recipients of Chinese OOF:
- Russia ($36.6 billion)
- Pakistan ($16.3 billion)
- Angola ($13.4 billion)
- Laos ($11.0 billion)
- Venezuela ($10.8 billion)
- Turkmenistan ($10.1 billion)
- Ecuador ($9.7 billion)
- Brazil ($8.5 billion)
- Sri Lanka ($8.2 billion)
- Kazakstan ($6.7 billion)
In Which Sectors Does China Focus?
Clear emphasis on infrastructure, with projects across energy, transportation and communications
How Does China Compare Against the United States?
Similar sized portfolios with very different compositions
- Total Official Finance: Between 2000-2014, Chinese official finance was at $354.3 billion. During the same period, US official finance was at $394.6 billion.
- Development Aid: US ODA dwarfs Chinese ODA.
- Other Flows: Less concessional and more commercially oriented projects make up the bulk of the China’s global official finance portfolio.
WORKING PAPER #46
Aid, China, and Growth:
Evidence from a New Global Development Finance Dataset
A new global dataset of official financing—including foreign aid and other forms of concessional and non-concessional state financing—from China to 138 countries between 2000 and 2014 is used to investigate whether and to what extent Chinese aid affects economic growth in recipient countries, and to test the popular claim that significant financial support from China impairs the effectiveness of grants and loans from Western donors and lenders.
To learn more, see
Which Countries Does China Favor?
