The Anatomy of China's Influence on the International Development Finance System

Abstract

The entry of China as an emerging economic power into the development financing scene has raised the question of its impact on international aid architecture. The paper argues that this question cannot be fully understood unless we realize that the origin and on-going evolution of the current rules in international aid regime represent a process of political contestation both on the international level and on the domestic level. They are the outcome of conscious aid policy coordination among DAC donors to avoid crass competition and promote burden sharing. However, undue coordination dominated by hegemonic ideas of what is best aid practice may stifle alternative notions of what development is and how official flows can promote the development. After uncovering the political dynamics of existing rules and standards, the author collected first-hand data through in-depth interview in Beijing to discover that China has no incentives to participate in the current DAC dominated aid policy coordination due to domestic and international political considerations. Furthermore, China has taken a pragmatic approach to international standards and rules on development assistance. On the one hand, China is willing to draw lessons from the international practices to reform its domestic aid governance structure. On the other hand, China has deliberately distinguished itself from the DAC approach by criticizing the appropriateness of the current standards and rules and highlighting its distinctive 'South-South Cooperation' approach. In addition, the author took a step further to uncover how domestic bureaucratic politics creates ambiguous attitude towards international rules due to the vested bureaucratic interests. It concludes that China has enhanced the momentum of creating a space for alternative development ideas and policy options, although such impact is not an outcome of China's conscious efforts but an unintentional impact due to the competition China brings to DAC donors and the alternatives it provides to recipient countries.