Financing Development: A Chinese Path?

Through the financing of major infrastructure projects, China has become a key player in development finance. How is Chinese aid distributed and by what means and modalities? Which Chinese institutions are involved in development cooperation? How can China contribute to the financing of the Sustainable Development Goals?

Experts debated these issues at the conference, “Financing Development: A Chinese Path?” at Agence Française de Développement in Paris on 10 September 2020. Marina Rudyak, researcher at the Institute for Chinese Studies at Heidelberg University, presented the modalities of China’s development assistance, while Agatha Kratz, Associate Director of the consulting company Rhodium Group, who holds a Ph.D. in Economics and is a specialist in Chinese investments, shared the results of her latest research on the lending policies of Chinese actors abroad. 

The discussion that followed was moderated by Tara Varma, Director of the Paris office of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Thomas Melonio, Director of Innovation, Research and Knowledge at AFD, and Rémi Genevey, Director for Eastern Europe, Middle East, Asia at AFD, also took part. The discussion shed light on the challenges facing Chinese development cooperation policy, allowing for a better understanding of the principles underlying Chinese policy, a potential vector for change in development finance.