China's aid to Africa: competitor or alternative to the OECD aid architecture?

Abstract

Purpose – The emergence of the Chinese aid consensus has come to have profound implications for sustainability. The Beijing Consensus “sovereignty doctrine” of non-interference, presents a stark contrast to the Washington Consensus architecture of imposed conditionalities and the serving of geopolitical interests. For this reason, from Africa's perspective, the Beijing Consensus appears to represent the preferred comprehensive meta-narrative for Africa. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the attributes of “good” aid architecture in relation to the peculiarities of Africa's challenges. Design/methodology/approach – In examining its principles, objectives, framework differences and impact, the Beijing model shows that it supports the human rights which “unleash”, empower and protect self-directed development grounded in ownership and in the strategic interests of recipients. Findings – The Washington Consensus has been problematic for African development because it is economistic and exclusively instru...