Chinese assistance to Africa: characterization and position regarding the global governance of development aid

This text is part of the framework of research undertaken by Iddri and its activities within its work programme on Global Governance. It results largely from a series of interviews undertaken by Emmanuel Guérin during a journey to China in January 2008.

The Western media presents a conflicting picture of the actual amount of Chinese assistance to Africa : US$9 billion for a project in Nigeria; US$20 billion for the entire continent of Africa? These statements, often bizarre and incoherent, show how much the amount of aid, as well as its nature and consequently its impact, is largely fantasy. It becomes urgent therefore to better define China’s assistance to Africa, in order to understand its modus operandi. There is also an increasingly pressing need to appreciate the position of China regarding the global governance of development aid. Indeed, China remains at the margin of institutions for global governance of aid and defends the specificity and virtues of South/South cooperation. If Westerners seek to develop a dialog with China about its assistance to Africa, an effort must be made on their part to comprehend the conceptual foundation of China’s assistance policy. For now, while the Chinese understand well the mechanisms of Western aid and how to exploit its failures, the reciprocal is currently far from true.

Download Idées pour le débat 03/2008 (English version)