Policy Report

Beijing’s Big Bet on the Philippines: Decoding two decades of China’s financing for development

Date Published

Jun 4, 2024

Authors

Samantha Custer, Bryan Burgess, Jonathan A. Solis, Narayani Sritharan, and Divya Mathew

Publisher

Citation

Custer, S., Burgess, B., Solis, J. A., Sritharan, N. and D. Mathew. (2024). Beijing’s Big Bet on the Philippines: Decoding two decades of China’s financing for development. Williamsburg, VA: AidData at William & Mary.

Abstract

Beijing has become a go-to source of development finance and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Philippines. In Beijing’s Big Bet on the Philippines, we meticulously piece together data from multiple sources to assess the money, relationships, and outcomes from two decades of PRC investment. We follow the money to track $9.1 billion in PRC financing for more than 200 development projects from 2000-2022, spotlighting Beijing’s revealed priorities in what projects it finances, where, and when in the Philippines. We then scrutinize the relationships behind these investments to uncover the major players, their roles, and their track records. Finally, we assess Beijing’s performance in the Philippines—to what extent does it follow through on its commitments, how does it manage the risk of public harm from its projects, and what are the downstream effects across society?

Featured Authors

Samantha Custer
Policy Analysis

Samantha Custer

Director of Policy Analysis

Bryan Burgess
Policy Analysis

Bryan Burgess

Senior Policy Specialist

Jonathan A. Solis
Policy Analysis

Jonathan A. Solis

Research Scientist

Nara Sritharan
Policy Analysis

Nara Sritharan

Visiting Assistant Research Professor

Divya Mathew
Policy Analysis

Divya Mathew

Senior Policy Specialist

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