Featuring
Andreas Fuchs
Post-doctoral Fellow, Princeton University
Brad Parks
Executive Director, AidData
Vijaya Ramachandran
Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development
With Discussant
Yan Wang
Visiting Professor, School of Business, George Washington University
Senior Research Fellow, Peking University
Moderated by
Lawrence MacDonald
Vice President, Communications and Policy Outreach, Center for Global Development
How big is China’s aid to Africa? Does it complement or undermine the efforts of traditional donors? China releases little information and outside estimates of the size and nature of Chinese aid vary widely. In an effort to overcome this problem, AidData, based at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, has compiled a database of thousands of media reports on Chinese-backed projects in Africa from 2000-2011. The database includes information on 1,673 projects in 51 African countries, and $75 billion in commitments of official finance.
The CGD working paper released at this event describes the new database methodology, key findings, and possible applications and limitations of the data, which is being made publicly available for the first time. The paper and database offer a new toolset for researchers, policymakers, journalists, and civil society organizations working to understand China’s growing role in Africa.
