China to allocate more foreign aid for Silk Road countries

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-12-14

China's assistant commerce minister Zhang Xiangchen at a press conference
in Beijing, Dec. 8. (Photo/CNS)

China plans to spend more foreign aid to fund projects in countries covered by its Silk Road economic belt and maritime Silk Road, according to officials from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

"The new aid fund will be prioritized for countries along and around the One Belt and One Road," said Yu Zirong, deputy director-general of the foreign aid department at the ministry, during a Dec. 8 news conference.

According to Yu, the ministry will fully push for the foreign aid projects as a mean to drive the country's One Belt and One Road strategies.

The ministry said it will plan a series of infrastructure projects, including highways, ports, rail links, and energy and telecommunication networks, to improve connectivity between China and its neighbors.

In the past, China's foreign aid fund was divided equally for Africa and the One Belt and One Road countries, Yu said. "Under the new conditions, the scale of China's foreign aid will undoubtedly expand further," assistant minister of Commerce Zhang Xiangchen said, noting several neighboring countries that receive Chinese aid having proposed projects in response to China's new Silk Road plan.

Zhang also highlighted the changes recently introduced in the management of foreign aid projects, which will focus more on policy research and evaluation to enhance planning for the long term.

China has also begun working with aid receiving countries, so they can carry out the projects themselves, Zhang said.