From Center for Global Development website:
China has become a major source of foreign aid in Asia, Latin America and especially in Africa. It has provided aid to these regions since the 1960s in support of its recognition as the legitimate representative of the Chinese people and of the Chinese seat in the United Nations. Today, Chinese aid appears tied more to Beijing’s interests in raw materials, such as oil, minerals and timber, necessary to fuel its incredible growth machine. It, like nearly all aid-giving governments, also has political and strategic interests it pursues with its aid–dissuading governments from providing diplomatic recognition to Taiwan, reportedly discouraging governments from supporting Japan for a seat on the UN Security Council, bolstering its expanding diplomatic presence world wide and creating warm relations with developing countries that will produce support for Chinese policies in international fora. [Full Text]
Carol Lancaster is Associate Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and former Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
