Open China Data is a Disruptive Gateway Drug

On Monday, AidData released the largest Open Data cache of Chinese development finance in Africa. The Chinese Development Finance in Africa database contains nearly 1,700 official finance projects in 50 African countries, totaling over $70 billion in reported financial commitments. A stunning achievement considering that China does not regularly participate in existing information reporting systems, such as the OECD's Creditor Reporting System, the International Aid Transparency Initiative, and country-specific Aid Management Platforms.