South–South Cooperation and Chinese foreign aid
South–South cooperation (SSC) can be broadly defined as cooperation at bilateral, multilateral, regional or interregional levels that is initiated, organized and managed by developing countries themselves, in order to promote political, economic, social, cultural and scientific development. Since 21st century, a group of emerging economies has become active in providing South–South development assistance. The development assistance provided by these countries, which falls under the framework of SSC, has its own unique features regarding the scale of and approaches to aid, regional and sector distribution, aid channels and aid management. With the start of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals set for all countries in the new era, touch on existing development problems and place an emphasis on the balance between economy, society and environment, and work towards benefits for current and future generations. Sustainable Development Goal 17 highlights the importance of SSC and development assistance.
In order to promote SDGs, it is urgent and necessary for providers of South–South development assistance to thoroughly study the concept, principles, methods and effects; to sum up the experience and establish a system for SSC; to enhance the effectiveness of South–South development assistance; and to expand the impact of South–South development assistance in the international development assistance system.
However, up to now, most South–South donors have problems with unsatisfactory data systems and incomplete statistics, thus it is difficult for researchers to conduct empirical analyses on the scale, sector distribution, regional distribution and impacts of aid. As Chinese scholars on Chinese foreign aid, we think the more appropriate and constructive research methodology at this stage is to do the case study. Through this approach, we can thoroughly discuss the concepts, principles, methods and effects of South–South development assistance, thus providing evidence for the establishment of a South–South development aid system.
The contributors of this book mainly come from three China's foreign aid research teams, including: the research team of Li Xiaoyun in the College of Humanities and Development, China Agricultural University, from the perspective of international development public policy; the research team of Huang Meibo in the International Development Cooperation Academy, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics from the perspective of economics and management; scholars in the Institute of International Development Cooperation of Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation from the perspective of international political economics and international relations. We also have authors from the Ministry of Agriculture, China Development Bank, and the Center for International Knowledge on Development. Ms Gu Jing from Institute of Development Studies of Sussex University in UK also provides one excellent case study.
The whole books presents 15 cases of China’s foreign aid. Financial resources provided by China for foreign aid fall into three main types: grants, interest-free loans and concessional loans; but all the foreign aid case studies presented here receive grants. The cases represent four main types of aid: complete sets of equipment; technical cooperation; human resources development cooperation; and emergency-based humanitarian aid. Regarding regional distribution, Africa and Asia are the two continents receiving the most funds. For sector distribution, the focus is on infrastructure, agricultural assistance and health care.
Each of the 15 chapters contained in this book provides a concise introduction to the project and focuses on its characteristics and effects analysis, reflecting SSC principles, experience and practice as well as current problems and challenges faced by Chinese foreign aid.
1.The principles of Chinese foreign aid
From the cases, we could find that China’s foreign aid has always followed the Principles of SSC. On one hand, South–South development assistance tends to be multifaceted, including development assistance provided bilaterally or multilaterally on grant or concessional terms, and other related economic and technical cooperation, such as trade, investment, capacity-building, technology and knowledge transfer. On the other hand, South–South development assistance follows the principles of SSC, which include adherence to respect for partners’ sovereignty, no attached political conditions, and an emphasis on mutual benefit and win–win cooperation, as well as promoting economic development on both sides.
2.The experience and practice of Chinese foreign aid
In order to improve the effectiveness of aid and ensure its sustainability, South–South development assistance has made useful explorations of long-term practices, taking unique approaches and has accumulated rich experience. From the cases , we could summarize three outstanding experiences and practices of Chinese forieign aid: following the principle of ownership and demand orientation; emphasizing technical training and capacity-building; combining assistance with investment.
3.Challenges in Chinese foreign aid management
And the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development puts forward some new requirements for South–South development assistance .From the case studies, we also could find that there are some deficiencies in China’s foreign aid management systems. In order to promote the realization of SDG in recipient countries, we could draw lessons from the aid management experience of traditional donors .
How to fully assess and summarize the effectiveness and experience of South–South development assistance, build communication platforms and share experiences with other development partners is a challenge for South–South development cooperation in the new era. This book explores the experiences and unique practices of SSC through an analysis of Chinese foreign aid cases, at the same time tries to identify gaps in Chinese foreign aid management with traditional donors.
