Towards complete development finance data: Quantifying China's international education co-operation and presence in the Global South

Motivation

China does not participate in the development co-operation reporting mechanism of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) development co-operation reporting mechanism, nor does it voluntarily publish overseas development finance data. Despite recent quantitative research on China's foreign aid to other sectors, such as health, no precedent exists for quantifying China's international education co-operation (IEC).

Purpose

This article will use AidData's Chinese Official Finance Dataset (AidData 2.0) to estimate the IEC using the OECD's internationally standardized definitions of development finance and frameworks for classifying IEC projects.

Approach and methods

We thoroughly examined all types of IEC projects, including official finance projects other than those that meet the definition of official development assistance (ODA). In our comparative analysis of educational aid between China and traditional donors, we focused on ODA-like projects and examined the number of projects and funding amounts to determine China's IEC priorities.

Findings

The result shows that, between 2000 and 2017, China's IEC commitments totalled 1,524 education-related international projects, representing 12% of the total international finance project portfolio, most of which are in Africa. Compared to the OECD framework, China prioritized higher education (n = 784, 51%) and education facilities and training (n = 244, 16%). An estimate of cumulative funding between 2000 to 2017 showed that China was the 10th largest donor of education aid to African countries, behind France, the World Bank, Germany, the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and the Netherlands.

Policy implications

The findings of this study help our understanding of China's IEC finance. With China's involvement in education development aid growing in recent years and donors looking for solutions to developing countries' debt crises, this will allow for more effective collaboration, co-ordination, and resource mobilization for both donor and recipient countries.