China’s Foreign Aid and International Aid Community: From the Perspectives of Traditional Donors and Africa

Abstract

China’s remarkable achievements in economic growth and poverty reduction, as well as the deepening of its partnerships with African countries have raised interest and strong concern among the ‘traditional donors’, particularly among the bilateral donor agencies in Europe and the US. There are marked differences between China and traditional donors with respect to their aid philosophy, and the forms and conditions for foreign aid. It is often said that China pays little attention to the framework and rules of development assistance established by the traditional donors in the west. More importantly, these deviations in Chinese foreign aid are prominent in Africa, the region to which traditional donors have donated massive amounts of development assistance. On the other hand, China’s growing presence in the international aid community provides an opportunity for broadening policy space for development strategies in the developing countries. This is particularly so in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where western donors have exerted strong influence not only on aid volumes but also on the content of development strategies. New opportunities are emerging for developing countries to formulate and implement development strategies, and to exercise genuine policy ownership.