NN42, June 2009
A Safari Towards Aid Effectiveness?
Aid Effectiveness with Chinese Characteristics
By Agnese Formica, University of Urbino (Italy) and CCS, Stellenbosch, Centre for Chinese Studies
Email: agnesformica@yahoo.comKeywords
Aid effectiveness; China
Summary
What role can China play as a relative new-comer to the international donor community? Looking at China?s position towards the issues of aid effectiveness as stated in the Paris Declaration could provide insights into answering this question.
?A common answer to the question what aid effectiveness means for China
was that Chinese aid is effective as it is concrete? (Davies, 2006)
China is one of the signatory countries of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness; however, analyzing its role in the complex paradigm of development assistance is quite controversial.
On one hand, the fact that China is itself a developing country, able to achieve an unimaginable progress in economic and social development in the last 30 years, does necessitate consideration of the country?s developmental experience. On the other hand, many questions continue to be posed around the sustainability of Chinese development which has resulted in the international community taking a cautious approach towards using China?s development process as an example for Africa.
The concept and subsequent debate around aid effectiveness existed long before the adoption of the Paris Declaration in 2005 but, despite more than five decades of efforts and funds towards efficacious aid plans, overall effectiveness is still far from being achieved.
What role can China play as a relative new-comer to the international donor community? Looking at China?s position towards the issues of aid effectiveness as stated in the Paris Declaration could provide insights into answering this question.
The commitment to ownership and donor-recipient alignment as it is stated in the Paris Declaration could fit into China?s policy on development assistance, as it is also one of the principles enshrined in China?s South-South model of cooperation and its principles of mutual benefit and equality. The Forum on China Africa Co-operation (FOCAC)[1] is a platform that enables discussion and negotiation on a multilateral level amongst China, African governments and other stakeholders. The FOCAC process enables development projects in Africa to be more effectively proposed, selected and implemented. In order to leverage this, African governments need to have a strategic and coordinated negotiating position on China?a Africa pledges, and to formulate policies in light of regional integration objectives and their own national agenda that is conducive to long term sustainable development.
This would lead to the conclusion that recipient countries are able to propose aid projects in line with their development strategies. A question, however, arises regarding the actors involved in the decision-making process. As China only recognizes African governments as counterparts for negotiations, it results in agreements being concluded at a very high political level, while the actors involved in the ownership principle (according to Paris Declaration and traditional donors) include civil society organizations and institutions representing a broad base of the population (parliament and other democratic institutions). An example of this high level practice could be China?s decision to provide development assistance towards the creation of a Special Economic Zone in the mining sector in Zambia?s Copperbelt province; however up to now very few details of the agreement have been made available to the general public.
Concerning harmonization, China?s policy makers are aware that projects agreed on the basis of bilateral channels are per se more feasible in terms of the bureaucracy and stakeholders involved. However, China is conducting its foreign policy with the aim of being recognized as a responsible member of the international community, giving skeptical observers evidence on this point (from Sudan to North Korea). Becoming involved in harmonized practices (concerning methodologies and goals) of development assistance is part of building a sound international image for the Asian giant and it is part as well of the ?peaceful development road? described in China?s policy papers. An example can be drawn by the Memorandum of Understanding jointly signed by Exim Bank chairman, Mr. Li Ruogu, and World Bank Managing Director, Mr. Juan Jose Daboub, to facilitate cooperation in energy and infrastructure projects in Africa.[2]
Harmonization commitments are also a challenging task for China?s development assistance system in relation to issues of accountability and transparency. The Chinese ODA system could be viewed as an inwardly accountable one, meaning that the legal and operational procedures for project implementation are formulated in a way that hold any actor (public or private) involved responsible towards Chinese and African institutions for the task it is expected to fulfil. As stated previously however, there is much less outward accountability and transparency, but this is true for Chinese as well as for African institutions. Lessons learnt can be gained through communication between the Chinese Follow up Committee (for FOCAC), its African counterparts and relevant stakeholders, on the impact of China?s FOCAC commitments to Africa on economic and social level. As some development agencies have acknowledged (for example DFID China ), cooperation and dialogue with China on development assistance issues can represent a good opportunity to build understanding and communication towards the commitments of the Paris Declaration. This dialogue could bring a more holistic and comprehensive understanding of practices implemented in different systems, which represents a constructive way of working in the future.
In addition, if it is true that greater effectiveness means greater pragmatism, China?s development assistance procedures could help improve the practices of the international donor community; at the same time, involving China in the development of harmonized aid practices could assist in creating meaningful dialogue between it and the international community, including donor and recipient countries? stakeholders, leading to a new and more efficacious partnership over the coming years.
References
Davies, P. (2006) China and the end of poverty in Africa. Towards mutual benefit?, Diakonia, Alfaprint Press, Sundbyberg, Sweden.
[1] www.focac.org.
[2] http://www.china.org.cn/english/BAT/211524.htm.
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