Mapping China's Global Investments and Inequality
Geocoded Chinese development projects and the diffusion of economic activity in developing countries
China's Public Diplomacy Toolkit
Quantifying Chinese public diplomacy in East Asia and the Pacific
China's Global Development Footprint
By the Numbers: The clearest look yet at Chinese official finance worldwide

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Featured Publications

Working Paper
64

Connective Financing: Chinese Infrastructure Projects and the Diffusion of Economic Activity in Developing Countries

Richard Bluhm, Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs, Bradley Parks, Austin Strange, Michael Tierney

2018-09-11

Working Paper
69

Grassroots Image Management: Confucius Institutes and Media Perceptions of China

Samuel Brazys, Alexander Dukalskis

2019-01-10

Policy Report

Ties That Bind: Quantifying China's public diplomacy and its "good neighbor" effect

Samantha Custer, Brooke Russell, Matthew DiLorenzo, Mengfan Cheng, Siddhartha Ghose, Jacob Sims, Jennifer Turner, Harsh Desai

2018-06-27

Journal Article

Apples and Dragon Fruits: The Determinants of Aid and Other Forms of State Financing from China to Africa

International Studies Quarterly

Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs, Bradley C Parks, Austin M Strange, Michael J Tierney

2018-02-01

Note: A version of this article was previously published as an AidData Working Paper.

Working Paper
46

Aid, China, and Growth: Evidence from a New Global Development Finance Dataset

Axel Dreher, Andreas Fuchs, Bradley Parks, Austin M. Strange, Michael J. Tierney

2017-10-10

In the News

The Atlantic

China’s Investments in Rwanda Raise Familiar Questions About Debt

August 3, 2019

Council on Foreign Relations

Belt and Road Tracker

May 8, 2019

The Wall Street Journal

China’s Xi Vows New Direction for ‘Belt and Road’ After Criticism

April 26, 2019

The Financial Times

Emerging markets face a new debt crisis; Chinese lending is not the only cause

March 12, 2019

Les Echos

Comment les Chinois mènent la conquête de l'Afrique | How the Chinese lead the conquest of Africa

February 19, 2019

Radio France Internationale

Chine: Pékin et la «diplomatie de la dette» | China: Beijing and "debt diplomacy"

February 10, 2019

The First Tranche

February 2019

Financier of first resort: China’s bid to be lender of choice for the developing world

In a new book published today, we examine how Beijing proactively seeks investment opportunities for its excess capital overseas to advance its national interests.

September 2018

Chinese infrastructure investments reduce inequalities in developing countries

A new AidData working paper analyzes Chinese infrastructure's impacts using the most comprehensive dataset of Chinese development project locations ever assembled.

The India-Pakistan border in 2015, as viewed from the International Space Station. Photo by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center, in the public domain.
August 2018

A volley of words—and new data—on China’s diplomatic reach

A recent report by AidData informed and incited discussion of China’s growing public diplomacy activities in East Asia and Pacific.

Sports Ministers from South Korea, China and Japan meet in 2016 in Pyeongchang.
May 2018

Report: China, India winning friends in the developing world, but lag far behind U.S.

The leaders (l-r) of South Africa, China, India, Russia and Brazil meet in Goa, India for the 2016 Annual BRICS Meeting. Photo by Beto Parata/PR via Flickr, licensed under (CC BY 2.0).
March 2018

China’s financial statecraft: Winning Africa one Yuan at a time?

Teasing out the nexus of money and influence in China’s development activities in Africa with a recent global dataset and a forthcoming report on leaders’ perceptions.

China’s President Xi Jinping and South Africa's President Jacob Zuma and his wife converse at the 2015 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Sandton, Johannesburg. Photo by GCIS, licensed under (CC BY-ND 2.0).
January 2018

Six deep dives into China’s checkbook diplomacy

AidData’s release of the most comprehensive dataset yet on Beijing’s spending abroad prompted a flurry of media coverage and policy analysis. See our top five picks for articles and interviews that provide new insight.

Photo licensed through Shutterstock.

Recent Datasets

Geocoded China Data

AidData's Geocoded Global Chinese Official Finance, Version 1.1.1

Published

2018-09-11

This dataset geolocates Chinese Government-financed projects that were implemented between 2000-2014. It captures 3,485 projects worth $273.6 billion in total official financing. The dataset includes both Chinese aid and non-concessional official financing.

Chinese Public Diplomacy Activities

China’s Public Diplomacy in East Asia and Pacific, Version 1.0

Published

2018-06-27

This dataset provides an initial quantitative look into China’s public diplomacy activities in the East Asia and Pacific region between 2000-2016, as featured in the Ties That Bind report.

Global China Data

AidData's Global Chinese Official Finance Dataset, 2000-2014, Version 1.0

Published

2017-10-11

This dataset tracks the known universe of overseas Chinese official finance between 2000-2014, capturing 4,373 records totaling $354.4 billion. The data includes both Chinese aid and non-concessional official financing. For geolocated data on Chinese project locations, see AidData's Geocoded Global Chinese Official Finance Dataset, Version 1.1.1.

Chinese Development in Ecological Hotspots

Chinese Official Finance in Ecologically Sensitive Areas Geocoded Research Release, Version 1.0.1

Published

2017-01-12

This sub-nationally georeferenced dataset of Chinese official finance activities between 2000 and 2014 tracks $149,159,306,133.72 of commitments in three ecologically sensitive regions -- the Tropical Andes in South America, the Great Lakes of Africa, and the Mekong Delta in Southeast Asia.

Geocoded China Data

AidData's Chinese Official Finance to Africa Dataset, 2000-2012, Version 1.1.1

Published

2017-01-12

This is a sub-nationally georeferenced dataset of Chinese official finance activities that spans 50 African countries over the 2000-2012 period. It includes 1,952 Chinese development finance projects across 3,545 physical locations.

Chinese Official finance to Africa

AidData's Chinese Official Finance to Africa Dataset, 2000-2013, Version 1.2

Published

2015-09-01

The 1.2 version of AidData's Chinese Official Finance to Africa Dataset tracks 2,647 development finance activities in Africa from 2000 to 2013. The data includes both Chinese aid and non-concessional official financing.