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
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Geopolitics, Domestic Political Economy and the Rise of Localization Policies in the Global EV Industry
February 13, 2026Governments around the world are reviving industrial policy to nurture nascent industries through multiple instruments, including tariffs, subsidies and localization policies. This shift is occurring... [ More ]
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Is Geopolitics Opening New Doors for EV Localization Worldwide?
February 13, 2026By Hanjie Wang While trade tensions continue to dominate international headlines, the rapid growth of electric vehicle (EV) industry has attracted less attention. Yet this transformation... [ More ]
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Development Finance at a Crossroads: Workshop Summary
February 06, 2026By Tianyi Wu Development finance is at a critical inflection point: many low- and middle-income countries are facing mounting pressures just as traditional donors and creditors... [ More ]
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Why Development Finance Falls Short—and How It Can Better Serve the Global South
December 17, 2025By Zheng Zhai and Kevin P. Gallagher Countries across the Global South need a stepwise increase in investment to improve the well-being of their population and... [ More ]
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Green Growth or Commodity Dependence? The LAC-China Relationship in 2025
December 15, 2025By Rebecca Ray In 2024, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) had a record trade deficit with China, amounting to 1.4 percent of regional GDP. At... [ More ]
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China-Latin America and the Caribbean Economic Bulletin, 2025 Edition
November 25, 2025In 2024, China’s relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) continued to grow, especially in the emerging sectors of renewable energy, energy transition minerals... [ More ]
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How Has China Helped the Green Transformation Along the Belt and Road: Four Channels
November 24, 2025By Yan Wang As the deadline for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) draws near, the world economy faces headwinds from trade protections, supply-chain disruptions... [ More ]
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Greening the Belt and Road with Four Underlying Mechanisms
November 24, 2025With five years to go before the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline, official statements have stressed that only 18 percent of the targets are on... [ More ]
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How We Track China’s Overseas Development Finance: A Guide to GDP Center’s Four Flagship Databases
November 20, 2025By Yiyuan Qi and William Olichney As China’s overseas financing activities expand across the globe, the need for reliable, detailed and publicly accessible data has grown... [ More ]
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Redefining Models for Global Green Cooperation: Lessons from China’s Emerging Partnerships
November 19, 2025By Mengdi Yue As climate, biodiversity and pollution crises intensify, the call for green transformation has become universal. Yet while the urgency is clear, how countries... [ More ]