When it was announced in 2023 that the African Union would become a full member of the G20, I darkly joked on a podcast that the AU’s entry into the body could very well mark the moment the G20 lost its status as one of the most important global coordination forums. Mark my words, I said, soon The Economist will be like “Uhhh, the G20 is OVER – it’s the ...
Tag: Boston University Global Development Policy Center
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Mapping the Emerging Africa-China Landscape
Boston University's Global Development Policy Center published a new policy brief tracking trends in Chinese financing to Africa. It notes the sharp decline in the size and number of loans compared to the 2010s. This point has been made before and ...
What Does Chinese Lending to Africa Look Like Now?
China has been one of the most important development lenders to Africa over the last quarter of a century. This has transformed the African development landscape in helpful and problematic ways. It is also changing very rapidly. A new report from ...
China Funded Many Coal Plants Around the World. Retiring Them Early Could Be a Bargain
China has funded about 39 GW of coal electricity around the world, particularly in South and Southeast Asia. If these plants continue operating until the end of their lifespans, they will breach 2040 carbon targets set by the International Energy Agency. ...
Prioritizing Socio-Ecological Protections: Study Shows Deregulation Doesn’t Attract Chinese Investment
By Christina Duran In a March 2023 synthetic report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasized that Central and South America face adverse impacts from increased climate damage “without rapid, deep and sustained mitigation and accelerated adaptation action,” which ...
Friendship over Friendshoring? Practical Opportunities for U.S.-China Coordination on Global Energy Transition
By Cecilia Springer U.S.-China competition could be bad news for the climate. The geoeconomic fragmentation that is driven by U.S.-China decoupling will raise costs and potentially slow the global energy transition. At the same time, countries ...
The Real Drivers and Impacts of Chinese Overseas Lending and Development Finance
By Oyintarelado Moses Debates about the drivers and impacts of Chinese overseas lending and development finance (OLDF) have accompanied the rise of China as the world’s largest official bilateral lender. Amidst stalled debt negotiations under the ...
The More We Get Together: Benefits of Cofinancing Development Projects in the Global South
By Cecilia Springer The Global South faces major financing gaps for achieving sustainable development goals. At the same time, the main infrastructure initiatives seeking to fill these gaps - China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the US-led Partnership for Global Infrastructure ...
New Boston University Report Challenges Chinese Debt Trap Meme That’s Still Popular With U.S. Government Officials
Researchers at Boston University's Global Development Policy Center did not mince words in a report published this week, in which they stated that "debt trap diplomacy is not a driver of Chinese lending and overseas development finance." For anyone who follows ...
Shifting Trade Winds between China and Latin America and the Caribbean as Free Trade Agreement Negotiations Progress
By Rebecca Ray and Zara C. Albright In 2022, the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region’s trade deficit in goods with China grew to a record 1.4 percent of regional GDP, as both sides of the relationship experienced uneven growth rebounds ...
China’s Lending to Latin America and the Caribbean Begins Again with Smaller, Targeted Support
By Rebecca Ray and Margaret Myers Chinese development lending to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has begun to rebound, according to the latest update of the Chinese Loans to Latin America and the Caribbean Database, maintained by the Boston University ...
History’s Solution to the China-U.S. Debt Standoff
By Kevin P. Gallagher History is repeating itself, but Western leaders are experiencing a selective memory loss that is preventing learning the lessons of that history. If developing countries are to mobilize the necessary resources ...
In Crafting Special Economic Zones, Ethiopia and Vietnam Learned from China and Taiwan
By Keyi Tang The Taliban administration recently announced plans to convert former US military bases into special economic zones (SEZs) with the aim of promoting economic self-sufficiency through increased trade and investment. The Taliban are not ...