Available Now

New report, dataset track trillions in Chinese loans and grants

Our "Chasing China" report pulls back the curtain on $2.2 trillion in overseas financing from China.

China Research
ThE First Tranche Blog

China’s massive overseas lending portfolio shifts course, as Beijing eyes the U.S., EU, and sensitive industries

2025-11-18

Image by William W. Potter/Adobe Stock, used under the Standard license.

New AidData report and datasets track for the first time China’s secretive loans and grants in high-income as well as developing countries.

A girl fetches water during a water crisis in Taiz, Yemen. Photo by Akram Alrasny via Adobe Stock, used under the Standard license.
ThE First Tranche Blog

Terrorist designations tend to mobilize foreign aid—but not in Yemen, study finds

2025-11-01

Construction in a city. Photo by Vanzyst/Adobe Stock, used under the Standard license.
ThE First Tranche Blog

How Beijing is adapting the Belt and Road Initiative to manage ESG risks

2025-10-31

Chasing China: Learning to Play by Beijing's Global Lending Rules

Policy Report

Chasing China: Learning to Play by Beijing's Global Lending Rules

Prioritizing Agenda 2030: How do Global South leaders navigate trade-offs and assess relevance?

Policy Brief

Prioritizing Agenda 2030: How do Global South leaders navigate trade-offs and assess relevance?

Transforming Migration Research: Insights from the Migration Platform Survey to inform an online research platform

Policy Report

Transforming Migration Research: Insights from the Migration Platform Survey to inform an online research platform

About AidData

We use rigorous methods, cutting-edge tools, and granular data on international development to answer the question: who is doing what, where, for whom, and to what effect?

How China Collateralizes

The first comprehensive analysis of how China secures priority repayment from emerging economies

Working Paper

AidData's Research In the News

China has lent $200B to U.S. tech and infrastructure projects, report finds

The Washington Post

China’s global lending portfolio is at least double previous estimates, report shows

Globe and Mail

China’s global spending spree

BBC

Indonesia’s China-backed bullet train derailed by mounting debt

Financial Times

New Working Papers

Working Paper #
136

How China Collateralizes

Anna Gelpern, Omar Haddad, Sebastian Horn, Paulina Kintzinger, Bradley C. Parks, Christoph Trebesch

June 25, 2025

Working Paper #
135

The Speed of Aid: Strategic Urgency in International Emergency Relief

Andreas Fuchs, Samuel Siewers

June 15, 2025

Working Paper #
134

Foreign Borrowing, Sovereignty, and Public Opinion in the Global South: Traditional Lenders or China?

David Janoff Bulman, Ning Leng, Kerry Ratigan

March 27, 2025

Programs

China’s Global Engagement

Systematically tracking China's portfolio of overseas investments and soft power activities

Foreign Policy Influence

Quantifying the economic and soft power tools of China, Russia, and the United States

Gender Equity in Development

Innovation in research to reduce gender bias in development

GeoQuery

Enabling the next generation of geospatial analysis

Geospatial Tools and Impact Evaluations

Innovation and rigor to measure impact more effectively

Listening to Leaders

Perspectives of leaders in low- and middle-income countries