Financing Development: A Chinese Path?

Through the financing of major infrastructure projects, China has become a key player in development finance. Under the banner of the “New Silk Roads” initiative, it finances the construction of ports, airports, railway lines and special economic zones in many countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and as far as Latin America. At the same time, China is seeking to structure and raise awareness of its foreign aid policy. The publication of two white papers on Chinese foreign aid in 2011 and 2014 and the creation of an agency dedicated to international development cooperation demonstrate this ambition to clarify its foreign aid system. In the global landscape of development actors, China's positioning as a donor to development remains difficult to grasp. The impact of Chinese funding is being debated, including in academic circles. Between development aid policy and development finance, China’s action questions the donor framework on development finance.

During this conference, which will be moderated by Tara VARMA, Director of the Paris office of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Marina RUDYAK, researcher at the Institute for Chinese Studies at Heidelberg University and founder of the blog “China Aid” specialized in the Chinese aid policy, and Agatha KRATZ, Associate Director of the consulting company Rhodium Group, who holds a Ph.D. in Economics and is a specialist in Chinese investments, will present their analysis of Chinese financing abroad. These analyses will allow us to better understand the challenges of Chinese development cooperation policy and to decipher the principles of action of this new player, a potential vector for change in development finance.