Media365
China’s lending since the turn of the century has been “vastly” larger than previously understood, with loans and grants increasingly going to developed countries including the United States – the largest recipient – according to a new report by an American university research team.
Of the US$2.2 trillion disbursed by China’s “official sector” between 2000 and 2023, nearly US$202 billion went to projects in the US, the AidData research lab at Virginia-based university William & Mary found.
“Our data demonstrate that the US – a high-income country – is the single largest recipient of official sector credit from China. This finding is both unexpected and counterintuitive,” wrote researchers of the study released on Tuesday.
The study – which was compiled over 36 months using more than 246,000 sources – defined a wide range of institutions as official Chinese lenders and donors, including state policy banks, state-owned commercial banks, state-owned companies, state-owned funds, and the central bank and its subsidiaries.
Some of the Chinese lending to projects in the US involved the construction of “critical infrastructure” or helped Chinese companies acquire “critical technologies” from American companies, according to the report.
