May 1, 2013
China commits billions in aid in Africa
China has committed $75 billion to aid and development projects in Africa over the past decade, according to research that reveals the scale of what some have called Beijing's escalating soft-power "charm offensive"to secure political and economic clout on the continent. The Chinese government releases very little information on its foreign aid activities, which remain state secrets. In one of the most ambitious attempts to date to chip away at this secrecy, U.S. researchers have launched the largest public database of Chinese development finance in Africa, detailing nearly 1,700 projects in 50 countries between 2000 and 2011.
