A Comparative Study Of The Chinese And The United States Foreign Aid To ASEAN Countries

Donor countries have been employing foreign aid as a diplomatic tool to achievetheir strategic goals since the Second World War. The United States, as the initiator offoreign aid in the modern sense, is one of the leading foreign aid donors in the world.China, as a developing country, has been providing foreign aid since1950s. Bothcountries regard ASEAN countries as strategically important neighbors and partners.Following the9/11Event, the United States began to “pivot” to Asia and enhancepartnerships with ASEAN countries. This prompted the United States to dramaticallyincrease its aid to ASEAN countries. Being geographically close to ASEAN countries,China has strong economic as well as political relations with them. Recent years havewitnessed increases in the Chinese foreign assistance to ASEAN countries.Assuming that a comparison of the two countries’ foreign aid in Southeast Asiamight enrich the study of foreign aid and deepen our understanding of the field, thestudy examines and compares the Chinese and the U.S. foreign assistance to ASEANcountries in terms of aid policies, management, activities and motivations. The mainfindings are as follows. China emphasizes the principle of non-interference andbilateral consultation in administering foreign aid. The Chinese foreign aid is focusedon infrastructure aid projects. The Chinese foreign aid motivations combine botheconomic and political interests. China aims to advance the economic integration ofSoutheast Asia and establish itself as a responsible neighbor. The United States foreignaid features the U.S. dominance. In tandem with the motivation to promote democracy,the United States offers a wide range of foreign aid projects designed to make animpact on various social aspects. The United States foreign assistance to the area ispredominated by its security motivation.