China must act more wisely in giving out foreign aid, says Xi Jinping

Country has provided 600 billion yuan in ‘foreign assistance’ since 1949

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Airport staff unload humanitarian aid from China in Quito, Ecuador, in April last year. China delivered 60 million yuan of relief materials including tents and folding beds to the quake-ravaged country. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 12:00pm, 9 Feb 2017Updated: 11:13pm, 9 Feb 2017

China must act more wisely when giving money to foreign countries by “optimising the strategic layout” of foreign aid, President Xi Jinping told a meeting in Beijing this week.

Xi’s comments at the meeting of the Communist Party’s leading small group on comprehensively deepening reform reflect his desire to extract greater returns from China’s spending abroad as Beijing seeks to increase its international influence.

China must “improve management over foreign aid funds and projects, reform the foreign aid administration system and improve the overall results of foreign aid,” the official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as telling Monday’s meeting.

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The country’s foreign exchange reserves have been shrinking rapidly, putting constraints on the financial resources available to Beijing for overseas spending. The reserves fell below US$3 trillion at the end of January, the lowest level in six years.

At the same time, the central government has faced domestic criticism for being too generous when giving money to foreign governments and failing to consider possible returns.

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