China’s fledgling aid agency, CIDCA, will have nearly half its budget slashed this year due to the ongoing economic slowdown brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak. CIDCA is by no means alone — the central government unveiled across-the-board cuts for the remainder the year, according to updated 2020 budgets that were posted online by the Ministry of Finance (in Chinese).
The dramatic curtailment of CIDCA’s budget this year will likely have a direct impact on aid programs in Africa, given that the continent is the largest recipient of Chinese development assistance, according to AidData.