Banking on Beijing: The Aims and Impacts of China's Overseas Development Program

China's transition from aid provider to lender has had far-reaching impacts in low-income and middle-income countries, offering new opportunities for socio-economic gains but also introducing risks such as corruption, political capture, and conflict. This book provides a systematic and transparent method of tracking Chinese development projects around the world and analyzes Beijing's motives and effects.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 312 pages
Publication date: 05 May 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

China has emerged as a crucial lender for many developing countries, but its opaque approach to grant-giving and lending has sparked speculation among policymakers, scholars, and journalists. This book aims to shed light on Beijing's motives and provide an in-depth analysis of its overseas investments. While China has traditionally provided aid, its transition to a banker in the twenty-first century has had far-reaching consequences in low-income and middle-income countries. By leveraging debt rather than aid for infrastructure projects, China offers developing countries the potential for rapid socio-economic gains. However, this approach also carries significant risks, including corruption, political capture, and conflict. This book will appeal to policymakers, students, and scholars of international political economy, Chinese politics, foreign policy, economic development, and international relations, as it offers valuable insights into China's global economic influence and its implications for the developing world.

China's emergence as a lender of first resort for much of the developing world has raised concerns among policymakers, scholars, and journalists due to Beijing's penchant for secrecy in its grant-giving and lending activities. While China has traditionally provided aid, its transition to a banker in the twenty-first century has had far-reaching consequences in low-income and middle-income countries. By leveraging debt rather than aid for infrastructure projects, China offers developing countries the potential for rapid socio-economic gains. However, this approach also carries significant risks, including corruption, political capture, and conflict. This book aims to shed light on Beijing's motives and provide an in-depth analysis of its overseas investments. It will appeal to policymakers, students, and scholars of international political economy, Chinese politics, foreign policy, economic development, and international relations, as it offers valuable insights into China's global economic influence and its implications for the developing world.

ISBN-13: 9781108463393