【By Observer Net, Ruan Jiaqi】
Backed by funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the "AidData" project, headquartered at the College of William & Mary in the United States, has repeatedly issued so-called "research reports" that have slandered China's "Belt and Road" initiative in recent years, rehashing the "debt trap" narrative, providing "ammunition" for U.S. media's negative narratives about China.
However, when USAID, the biggest financial backer, was forcibly closed down by the Trump administration, AidData suddenly changed its rhetoric, accusing the U.S. of being the largest recipient of Chinese overseas financing over the past two decades.
According to reports from The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others on the 18th, on Tuesday local time, AidData released a report stating that according to their latest research on China's overseas financing, they had reached an "unexpected and counterintuitive" conclusion: although the U.S. government has continuously criticized developing countries with the old cliché of "Chinese debt trap," in fact, between 2000 and 2023, Chinese financial institutions lent over $200 billion to the U.S., supporting more than 2,500 projects across almost all states in the U.S., exceeding the loans to any other country.
The report stated that these funds not only flowed into the construction of oil pipelines, data centers, and airport terminals, but also provided financing for global Fortune 500 companies such as Tesla, Amazon, Disney, and Boeing in the U.S., including some acquisition activities. Although such financing activities began to raise concerns among the U.S. government in 2017, over half of the loans (103 billion dollars) were issued after 2018.
"This is really ironic," said Bradley Parks, Executive Director of AidData, "the U.S. government has been warning other countries to be cautious about the risks of debt to China, yet it is the U.S. borrowers who have received large amounts of loans from Chinese creditors."
Top ten recipients of Chinese credit from 2018 to 2023. Red indicates "developed countries". The Washington Post map
According to the report, the team tracked over 30,000 projects and activities funded by 1,193 Chinese donors and lending institutions in 217 countries and regions between 2000 and 2023, totaling $2.2 trillion.
The New York Times cited the report, stating that China's financing to developing countries mainly consists of large-scale project loans with governments as borrowers. Through the "Belt and Road" initiative, China has cumulatively provided over $1 trillion in loans for infrastructure projects in developing countries.
Regarding developed countries, however, China's financing focuses more on the commercial sector. In recent years, China has gradually increased its credit provision to wealthy countries such as Australia and the UK, and currently, the amount of loans extended to high-income countries and developing countries is roughly equal.
The report states that such loans are primarily credit lines directed at governments and large enterprises, mainly flowing into key infrastructure and high-tech assets in developed countries, with the U.S. being one of the important recipients.
AidData's report shows that in the financing operations conducted by Chinese institutions in the U.S., Chinese funds have supported hundreds of state-level infrastructure projects, including a high-voltage transmission line from Canada to New York, one of the world's largest data centers in Northern Virginia, and multiple terminal buildings at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Researchers also found that most of these loans directly flowed into global Fortune 500 companies such as Amazon, Halliburton, Tesla, Boeing, Qualcomm, and Disney, providing them with commercial loans for daily operations; another part was used to help Chinese-controlled companies acquire American companies engaged in chip, DNA analysis, and other businesses.
Projects and activities carried out in the U.S. by China through loans and grants from 2000 to 2023. Report screenshot
Certainly, as a "white glove" for U.S. anti-China narratives, this report by AidData continues its usual tactics—seeming objective analysis, but actually still rehashing the so-called "China threat theory."
The report warns alarmingly that the above-mentioned financing by China is part of its large-scale spending plan, with funds mostly flowing into sensitive sectors such as critical minerals, infrastructure, and semiconductors, aiming to control Western companies related to sensitive technologies. This move may not only trigger so-called "national security issues," but also enable China to gain economic dominance in areas such as strategic material reserves, global supply chains, and maritime traffic routes.
The report also mentions that Chinese lending institutions have provided over $335 billion in credit for merger and acquisition transactions in dozens of countries around the world, with three-quarters of it flowing into M&A projects initiated by Chinese domestic enterprises, covering fields such as robotics technology, biotechnology, and quantum information. U.S. media interpreted this as showing that such financing has deeply helped China take the lead in areas such as artificial intelligence, clean energy technology, and advanced robotics.
Additionally, the report tries to hype up the idea that competition between major world powers is spreading to the field of aid and development financing, and a "fundamental shift" is taking place, where the primary goal of aid and credit providers is no longer to promote the economic development and social welfare of recipient countries, but rather to focus on enhancing their own economic competitiveness and national security.
Co-author Brooke Escobar openly expressed her bias, claiming that China's increased overseas financing is not aimed at boosting its "global philanthropist" reputation, but rather "focused on consolidating its position as the leading creditor nation, making it impossible for countries to afford the cost of distancing or confronting China."
AidData's Executive Director Parks also maliciously speculated, saying that the research data showed that when Chinese enterprises planned to acquire high-priced companies in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, and the U.S., the Chinese government's attitude was "we support you, this is credit support, go ahead and do it."
William Henagan, a researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations, claimed that although individual loans from China to U.S. companies or infrastructure projects might not pose a national security risk, the scale of cross-border acquisitions-related lending could help China expand its market share in strategically important industries. He also baselessly attacked, defaming such acquisitions as "another way for China to systematically steal intellectual property."
This is the familiar formula and flavor, a clear case of wrapping dumplings with the vinegar of "threat炒作."
It is under this zero-sum mindset that the U.S. Congress has been increasingly tightening the review of Chinese acquisition projects in recent years. U.S. media reported that it has now become more difficult for Chinese institutions to provide financing for sensitive sector acquisitions in the U.S.
In fact, the Trump administration started strengthening foreign acquisition reviews during its first term, and even investigated previous Chinese acquisitions of U.S. companies. Subsequent Biden administration further expanded export controls, restricting China's access to chips and artificial intelligence technologies.
Regarding the U.S.'s unreasonable actions, China has repeatedly emphasized that the essence of Sino-U.S. economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial. For many years, Chinese enterprises' investments in the U.S. have made significant contributions to promoting employment and economic development in the U.S. Politicizing and overemphasizing the economic and investment issues goes against the principles of the market economy and international trade rules, undermining confidence in the U.S. market environment and hindering U.S. economic growth. U.S. officials should stop making groundless accusations and smears against China, and do more to promote Sino-U.S. cooperation.
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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7574242926897709583/
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