NTD.TV
July 16,2014
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) published its second foreign aid white paper. Between 2010 and 2012, CCP gave out more than 89.3 billion yuan, including 32.32 billion yuan of grants (aid gratis). The scale of foreign assistance keeps expanding. Asia and Africa were the major recipient areas of CCP foreign assistance. Why does the CCP keep expanding its foreign aid so rapidly?
CCP’s Information Office of the State Council issued a white paper on China’s foreign aid on July 10. From 2010 to 2012, China appropriated in total 89.34 billion yuan (14.41 billion U.S. dollars) for foreign assistance .
In its first white paper on foreign aid in 2011, it summed up the total spending since its founding. It revealed that 256.29 billion yuan (41.34 billion U.S. dollars) had been allocated for foreign aid between 1950 and 2009.
According to these figures, the CCP spent more than one third of the total spending between 1950 and 2009 in foreign aid in just three years. The rate of expansion is astonishing.
Professor Frank Xie, University of South Carolina Aiken School of Business: “CCP foreign aid was allocated for political purposes: that is to avoid being isolated in the international arena.”
Hua Po, Beijing politics watcher: “It is said that China has no friends. Why? The so-called friends are fair-weather friends, who will support the CCP when human rights is brought up. It comes with a high price, and it’s increasing. That’s why the aid is expanding too.”
The white paper said, the CCP provided assistance to 121 countries, including 30 in Asia and 51 in Africa.
In three years, the CCP relieved nine least developed countries such as Tanzania, Zambia, Sudan and so forth from 16 mature interest-free loans totaling 1.42 billion yuan.
CCP official media Beijing News had reported on May 4, the CCP has assisted more than 1,000 construction projects in African countries since 1956, and provided aid in three types: grant (aid gratis), interest-free loan and concessional loan.
Why does the CCP invest so much in Africa?
Hua Po: “On the surface, it shows the kindness of the CCP relieving poverty. But in fact, it was done to win international support. Mao Zedong said, the black relatives of China had carried the CCP into the United Nations. That is what the CCP is about, to manipulate the poor countries by paying them.”
The white paper shows Vietnam, Philippines and North Korea were among the 30 Asian countries receiving assistance from the CCP.
Hong Kong’s Oriental Daily calculated that the money policy of the CCP to improve its relations with neighboring countries has cost China about 600 billion yuan on just the Philippines and Vietnam.
However, rather than improving the bilateral relationship, the massive anti-Chinese incidents in May this year has led to many Chinese businesses robbed and smashed in Vietnam killing at least 20 Chinese.
Why would such vicious incidents happen with so much money and material spent?
Hua Po: “The financial advantage forged the alliance. It will certainly also break the alliance. There is an old saying: the villain responds to money, but the gentleman obeys righteousness. An alliance based on money, not righteousness, will break should conflict arise. They would become enemies. Betrayal is also often seen, such as in relations with Vietnam.”
As for the massive aid to foreign countries, Hua Po believes it is a good deed if the Chinese are indeed prosperous. But, with so many Chinese in poverty, children not affording school, and people lacking medical care, the aid is at the cost of the people’s livelihood.
Wall Street Journal reported that, the white paper didn’t say how annual outlays have changed in recent years. Outside tallies suggest China’s foreign financial aid and support is multiples higher than the government announces.
