Is China a rogue donor, as some media pundits suggest? Or is China helping the developing world pave a pathway out of poverty, as the Chinese claim? In the last few years, China's aid program has leapt out of the shadows. Media reports about huge aid packages, support for pariah regimes, regiments of Chinese labor, and the ruthless exploitation of workers and natural resources in some of the poorest countries in the world sparked fierce debates. These debates, however, took place with very few hard facts. China's tradition of secrecy about its aid fueled rumors and speculation, making it difficult to gauge the risks and opportunities provided by China's growing embrace. This well-timed book, by one of the world's leading experts, provides the first comprehensive account of China's aid and economic cooperation overseas. Deborah Brautigam tackles the myths and realities, explaining what the Chinese are doing, how they do it, how much aid they give, and how it all fits into their "going global" strategy. Drawing on three decades of experience in China and Africa, and hundreds of interviews in Africa, China, Europe and the U.S., Brautigam shines new light on a topic of great interest.China has ended poverty for hundreds of millions of its own citizens. Will Chinese engagement benefit Africa? Using hard data and a series of vivid stories ranging across agriculture, industry, natural resources, and governance, Brautigam's fascinating book provides an answer. It is essential reading for anyone concerned with China's rise, and what it might mean for the challenge of ending poverty in Africa.

Product Description: Since 1957, more than 45 African countries have received aid from China, yet little about the impact of this assistance is known. Deborah Bräutigam provides the first authoritative account of Chinese aid in rural Africa. The book answers three primary questions: How does Chinese aid differ from that of other donors? What impact has China's aid had on African development? What factors account for the widely divergent outcomes of China's aid? In a methodological tour de force, Bräutigam draws on anthropology, economics, organization theory and political science to explain how changing ideas about development in China shaped the design of its aid, and how domestic politics in African countries influenced its outcome...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)