GLOBAL CHINA INITIATIVE
The Global China Initiative (GCI) advances policy-oriented research on China’s overseas economic activity and engagement with international institutions in order to enable financial stability, human well-being and environmental sustainability.
GLOBAL CHINA RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT
Between 2000-2024, 42 Chinese lenders signed 1,319 loan commitments amounting to $180.87 billion with 49 African governments and seven regional institutions.
In 2025, the Chinese Loans to Africa (CLA) Database, managed by the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, recorded just under $2.1 billion of Chinese loans commitments to Africa which remained concentrated among a small group of borrowers.
A new policy brief analyzes the state of Chinese lending to Africa reflected in this database update. The current level reflects China’s ongoing strategic recalibration of its economic engagement with African countries.
Explore the Data Read the Policy Brief 阅读政策简报摘要Explore the research
Latest News & Publications
Receive Updates from GCI through the GDP Center Newsletter 订阅“中国与全球发展项目”定期中文邮件更新-
Brokers on the Ground: Chinese Commercial Creditors’ Entry into Africa Sovereign Development Finance
May 29, 2026By Tianyi Wu The portfolio of financiers participating in China's overseas development finance is changing. Between 2000 and 2019, development finance institutions (DFIs), primarily the Export-Import... [ More ]
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The Growth Connections Between China and the Global South: A Review and a Refocus
May 26, 2026As late as 1984, half of China’s exports consisted of raw materials, including oil, coal, food and livestock. After 47 years of reform and opening, [ More ]
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What New Data Reveals About China-Africa Economic Ties
May 20, 2026By Mengdi Yue China and Africa’s economic relationship has continued to evolve over the last decade. Recent milestones include the ten partnership actions announced at the... [ More ]
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China-Africa Economic Bulletin, 2026 Edition
May 20, 2026A series of concurrent shocks have posed significant challenges to the African continent, including the recent global pullback by the US whose effects fall disproportionately... [ More ]
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How Can China’s Debt Sustainability Analysis Better Serve Global South’s Development Goals?
May 14, 2026By Tianyi Wu The current debt and development crisis in the Global South has resurfaced a long-standing tension in sovereign development finance: do tools designed to... [ More ]
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Debt Sustainability with Chinese Characteristics: Norm Convergence and Its Limits in Sovereign Lending
May 14, 2026In 2019, China introduced the Belt and Road Initiative Debt Sustainability Framework (BRI–DSF) for low-income countries (LICs), offering a critical window into sovereign lending risk... [ More ]
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GDP Center Signs Partnership Agreement with Shanghai University of International Business and Economics
May 08, 2026To reinforce commitments to international cooperation and policy research for global change, the Global Development Policy (GDP) Center has officially signed a new international academic... [ More ]
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Why Competitive Politics Can Pull Development Finance Away from Need
May 04, 2026By Keyi Tang As development finance tightens, the most important question may not be who is lending, but how domestic politics shapes where the money goes. When... [ More ]
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Commodity-Price-Linked Bonds: Enhancing Debt Resilience in Commodity-Dependent Economies
April 30, 2026By early 2025, debt servicing pressures had intensified. Interest payments exceed 10 percent of government revenues in 56 developing countries—double the level a decade earlier—and... [ More ]
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Disentangling Decision-Making: Chinese Infrastructure Finance in Africa
April 29, 2026By Tianyi Wu In 2016, China committed $28.8 billion in infrastructure loans to African countries––a record peak that has been followed by a rapid drop as... [ More ]