China Ponders International Development Cooperation: What Can Be Expected in a Post COVID-19 Era

Abstract

In 2021, China launched a variety of initiatives in international development cooperation—the 2021 White Paper on China’s International Development Cooperation and Global Development Initiative—as a way to readjust its position and approach to global development governance. Based on the above, this chapter aims to address the question, how and why did China modify its approach to international development, and to what extent will this modification make a difference in China’s practices in the post COVID-19 era? The chapter argues that, by reshaping narratives and modifying approaches in international development, China aspires to play a leadership role in expanding its influences, serving both domestic and international markets and setting international standards. This chapter also suggests that Beijing is modifying its role in international development cooperation and gradually incorporating new tools, such as narrative power, to increase its influence amid the growing geopolitical rivalry with the United States. But to what extent such influence wielding is effective is largely dependent on China’s domestic political economy in the post COVID- 19 era.