China: The Rogue Donor. An analysis of aid allocation policies of an emerging donor.

摘要

The group of non-traditional bilateral aid donors is growing. Among these non-traditional donors are emerging donors, which can be characterized as countries which are both donor and recipient of aid. Emerging donor’s motives for aid provision are largely disputed. China, among others, is accused of acting out of self-interest, harming sustainable development and supporting rogue states. According to some estimates, China has become the second largest bilateral donor, and it is therefore an important player in the aid landscape. This study is aimed to clarify what China’s aid motives are and how they change over time. An analysis of policy documents and announcements present the official aid motives. An Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis of data provided by AidData (2016) allows for an examination of actual aid allocation. The results indicate that there is a discrepancy between the official and actual aid motives. The results also show that, between 2000 and 2014, China decided which countries would receive aid based on economic and strategic (self) interests. Among those countries which receive aid, the commitment was larger when the population was more in need. Strategic interests became more important over time whereas humanitarian needs became less important. Future research is needed before these results can be generalized and a consensus for all emerging donors can be established.