To reinforce commitments to international cooperation and policy research for global change, the Global Development Policy (GDP) Center has officially signed a new international academic partnership with the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics (SUIBE), aimed to bridge academic collaboration and action for policy solutions across borders. Last month, Meibo Huang from SUIBE visited […]
By 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 a foreign-financed road is opened, the picture is clear that this project will connect farmers to markets, lower transport costs and bring neglected communities closer to opportunity. But […]
By 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 surpass 20 percent in 17 countries. Without substantial relief, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warns of a potential “lost decade” for development. Rising debt distress has renewed concerns over […]
By 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 China shifted to the “small and beautiful” approach––with only $2.1 billion observed in 2024. This strategic shift reflects a fundamental recalibration of how China lends, but there is still […]
By Kaihui Song The year 2025 recorded the largest net addition to global coal capacity in over a decade, driven largely by China amid the country’s heightened energy security concerns. Recent geopolitical tensions, particularly the conflict in the Middle East, have disrupted liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply and prompted several countries to turn back to […]
By Yan Wang The global economy in early 2026 is confronted with an escalating war in the Middle East causing humanitarian disasters and energy crises. On the economic front, although there is a consensus that the global imbalance is widening, solid evidence for the root causes of this imbalance is lacking. The IMF’s 2025 Article […]
China’s development finance institutions (DFIs), primarily the China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export–Import Bank of China (CHEXIM), have become central players in global infrastructure development. At the same time, China’s overseas infrastructure projects have come under scrutiny for their climate impact. A new report by Hanjie Wang, Cecilia Springer and Ali Hasanbeigi puts this […]
By Cecilia Springer, Hanjie Wang and Ali Hasanbeigi When a new railway line connects cities in East Africa or a power plant starts operating in South Asia, many tons of steel and cement quietly shape the structures behind the contracts and headlines. These carbon-intensive materials form the physical backbone of infrastructure financed by China’s development […]
By Julie Radomski, Tsitsi Musasike, Tinotenda Chidhawu, Hudson Mtegha and Earnest Rungano Chinyanga Lithium has emerged as an indispensable resource powering the energy transition, given its central role in electric vehicle batteries and battery energy storage systems. For Zimbabwe, endowed with Africa’s largest lithium reserves, this presents a historic opportunity. The country accounted for nearly […]
The mining sector contributed US$5.6 billion to Zimbabwe’s GDP in 2022 and is expected to contribute $20 billion in 2030. Despite this significant contribution, Zimbabwe does not have a standalone national mining policy or a transition mineral-specific strategy to ensure it reaps the full benefits from its lithium boom. This national policy gap takes on […]