Vietnam: Chinese Development Finance Profile, 2000-2022
Date Published
Oct 10, 2025
Authors
Lea Thome, Brooke Escobar
Publisher
Citation
Thome, L. and Escobar, B. (2025). Vietnam: The Scale, Scope, and Composition of Chinese Development Finance. Williamsburg, VA: AidData at William & Mary.
Abstract
This country profile provides a detailed overview of the scale, scope, and composition of Chinese state-directed financing in Vietnam from 2000 to 2022. It includes granular information on key trends in China’s loan and grant-financed commitments, its lending portfolio, ESG risks in its infrastructure projects, and contractual safeguards adoption and implementation.
From 2000 to 2022, China directed $28.2 billion in loan and grant-financed commitments for 218 projects in Vietnam. China’s financial footprint there is dominated by non-concessional lending, which accounts for $23 billion in grant and loan commitments. Beijing’s financing to Hanoi peaked at $5.1 billion in 2016, before the country officially joined the BRI—highlighting China’s focus on large-scale infrastructure lending to Vietnam for energy and industry projects that same year.
The insights in this profile are derived from AidData’s Global Chinese Development Finance Dataset, Version 3.0 and the sources referenced therein. Additional 2022 data collection is based on a forthcoming dataset version launching in November 2025.
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