Time for fresh look at China’s unique global donor-borrower role: report

Centre for Global Development says China is second in voting power in development banks and made large contributions to United Nations agencies

‘It’s taken its place as a major donor alongside countries like the US and Japan, but it’s still benefiting from the system,’ an author of the report says

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A new report by the Centre for Global Development finds that China is both a growing donor to global organisations while remaining a major borrower from development banks. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 1:12pm, 20 Nov 2021Updated: 10:27pm, 20 Nov 2021

While bringing ample benefits, China’s growing contributions and influence in global organisations like the World Bank and the United Nations should be reconsidered, a new report on China’s international engagement has concluded.

The country is now second in terms of voting power in multilateral development banks, behind only the United States. This is mostly due to the growth in China’s contributions. Between 2010 and 2020, the country’s total subscribed capital to the system grew to US$67 billion from US$17 billion, according to the report, which was released on Thursday by the Centre for Global Development.

China’s engagement with the United Nations has grown significantly in recent years, becoming the UN’s fifth-largest contributor in 2019, according to the study. Photo: Bloomberg

Sarah Rose, a co-author of the report and a policy fellow at the centre, a non-profit research and policy group in Washington, said that as China’s voluntary contributions had increased, the country had come to occupy a special role.

“China is in a unique position: it’s taken its place as a major donor alongside countries like the US and Japan, but it’s still benefiting from the system at the same time, to the tune of billions of dollars in subsidised loans and procurement contracts,” she said.

“It’s a position that gives China quite a lot of power and influence across these institutions.”