Estimating China's Foreign Aid

The Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute published on 27 September 2019 a paper titled "Estimating China's Foreign Aid: 2017-2018 Preliminary Figures" by Naohiro Kitano.

The paper provides revised and updated estimates of net and gross disbursements of China's global foreign aid from 2001 to 2018. China's net foreign aid is estimated to have increased from $4.9 billion in 2014 to $6.4 billion in 2018, mainly due to an increase in grants and interest-free loans. The report does not indicate where the aid goes but historically about 50 percent of China's global aid has gone to Africa.

Estimating China's Foreign Aid

The IDS Bulletin published in July 2018 an article titled "Estimating China's Foreign Aid Using New Data" by Naohiro Kitano.

There is a long-running debate about the amount of China's OECD-equivalent foreign aid. In this article, Naohiro Kitano updates the estimates of China's global foreign aid from 2001 to 2014 and compares the results with the foreign aid from the OECD's Development Assistance Committee members. Kitano, who has studied this issue in recent years, estimates China's net global foreign aid decreased from $5.4 billion in 2013 to $4.9 billion in 2014. Historically, Africa has received about half of China's aid.

Estimating China's Foreign Aid

Japan's JICA Research Institute published on 26 May 2017 "A Note on Estimating China's Foreign Aid Using New Data: 2015 Preliminary Figures" by Naohiro Kitano.

The note presents estimates of China's foreign aid from 2001 to 2015 as defined by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and makes comparisons with the net ODA flows of major DAC member countries and emerging providers that report to the DAC. In an earlier analysis, China reported that 52 percent of its foreign aid goes to Africa.

China-Africa Agricultural Cooperation in West Africa

The South African Institute of International Affairs published in November 2015 a study titled "China-Africa Co-operation beyond Extractive Industries: The Case of Chinese Agricultural Assistance in West Africa" by Emanuele Santi and Maxime Weigert, both with the African Development Bank.

The paper offers an overview of the main trends in and obstacles to China-West African engagement in the agricultural sector, and places them in the context of West Africa's emerging needs.  The authors conclude that West Africa could learn a lot from China, which has built a strong domestic agricultural sector in the last two decades and developed it more rapidly than any other sector. 

African Leaders and China's Foreign Assistance

Aid Data published in November 2014 a study titled "Aid on Demand: African  Leaders and the Geography of China's Foreign Assistance" by Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs, Roland Hodler, Bradley Parks, Paul Raschky, and Michael Tierney.  The study investigates whether political leaders of aid-receiving African countries use foreign aid to further their own political or personal interests. 

The authors noted that the publication of this paper led to some inaccurate reporting and confusion among journalists, bloggers, and researchers.  They published a rejoinder on 26 November 2014 titled "Diving into the Details: What 'Aid on Demand' Says and Doesn't Say about China in Africa." 

Estimating China's Foreign Aid 2001-2013

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Research Institute published in June 2014 a solid analysis titled "Estimating China's Foreign Aid 2001-2013" by Naohiro Kitano and Yukinori Harada.  The JICA report deals with China's global aid and does not break it down by region.  In the past, China has said that about 45 percent of its aid goes to Africa.