Mercy Corps in China: Combining Global Experience with Successful Chinese Models

Abstract

Abstract Mercy Corps’ collaborative work with Chinese organizations demonstrates an emerging paradigm of global humanitarian partnership where a connection between regional wisdom and international expertise is applied to address local poverty. Mercy Corps, a global relief and development agency known for innovative programming, implements disaster management capacity building projects, migrant youth trainings, exchange programs, and young leader development activities in China through partnerships with institutions and NPOs including the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and the All China Youth Federation. These joint activities have illustrated how much organizations like Mercy Corps can learn from the Chinese approach to development, which has been inspired and made possible by enormous Chinese-led efforts toward poverty alleviation over the past three decades and also supported by the emergence of socially innovative ideas and leaders. Through these partnerships, Mercy Corps’ deep level of global technical expertise and track record of impact-focused programming has served as a necessary ingredient to further support and enhance China’s development goals. This article explores the history and values of Mercy Corps’ work in China; China’s unique perspective and influence as a humanitarian development player; and the opportunity that international NPOs have to work with China to jointly address the most urgent humanitarian challenges around the world.