Despite China’s Foreign Aid, Western Countries Still Express Doubt

Despite this economic crisis, which has prevented many other countries from contributing more of their budget to foreign aid, China foreign aid budget has increased 30% since 2004. The Associated Press today, cited a passage from China’s report in defense of their foreign aid, “Over the years, while focusing on its own development, China has been providing aid to the best of its ability to other developing countries with economic difficulties, and fulfilling its due international obligations." Despite China’s assistance in locations such as Africa, Syria, Bangladesh, and Peru, Western nations including the United States are, again, concerned with China’s lack of transparency on the matter.

Deborah Brautigam, an expert in U.S.-China relations, defends China’s release of a foreign aid report to be progress. “They're trying to figure out what it means to be a responsible, great power, and one of the things they've been getting beaten up about a lot is foreign aid." It should be noted that Brautigam is from American University in D.C. and is not a governmental source.

Brautigam’s optimistic opinion differs greatly from that of Western powers that worry that China is “securing rights” to oil and natural recourses in the countries to which they are sending foreign aid. "In developing countries, all this aid could potentially be abused and become a source of corruption. That is why Western countries accuse China of basically making it difficult for them to pursue policies of good governance and human rights," says Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. But while China continues to stretch its wings internationally and the economic crisis persists, Western countries as well as those being financially aided by China must wait and see.

The two expert opinions in this article highlight the divergence between the governmental and civil opinions about China’s foreign aid. Much like Merriman’s chapter on debate in the news, it is true that government officials will reflect those of the government and not necessarily what is most valid. Yanzhong’s opinion on China’s aid reflects the U.S.’s concern about China’s growing power internationally. Brautigam represents the expert opinion of someone removed from the political pressures of Washington. This type of source is recommended by Merriman in order to avoid a governmental “spin” on their source.

All in all, although this report is inconclusive in respect to China’s motives behind its foreign aid, the sources considered in this article reflect both the U.S. government as well as civilian expert opinions.