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

Featured Publications

64
Working Paper

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

Ties That Bind: Quantifying China's public diplomacy and its "good neighbor" effect
Journal Article
International Studies Quarterly

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

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

46
Working Paper

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

Counting on Statistics: How can national statistical offices and donors increase use?

In the News

The New York Times

The World, Built by China

November 18, 2018
South China Morning Post

Debt-trap allegations push China to tighten reins on foreign aid programme

November 14, 2018
NPR

China's Building Spree In Poor Nations: Does It Really Help The Local Economy?

November 13, 2018
The Diplomat

Why Is Transparency So Important for China’s Development Assistance?

November 10, 2018
The Sydney Morning Herald

Red Cross calls for 'humanitarian Belt and Road' to boost Chinese aid

October 31, 2018
Overseas Development Institute

China and international development: six things to read in October

October 30, 2018

The First Tranche

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.