UK to scrap US$16 million in foreign aid to China

Britain’s overseas development spending in China represented a small fraction of its US$14 billion in foreign aid in 2021

Money can be put to better use in other countries, UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said

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Britain’s Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, pictured here arriving at No 10 Downing Street in April, said the UK government plans to end its foreign aid to China, with the money being spent better elsewhere. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 8:30pm, 18 May 2022

Britain plans to stop sending overseas aid to China, with the money being put to better use in other countries, according to the United Kingdom’s business secretary.

The British government sent about £13 million (US$16 million) in overseas development assistance (ODA) to China last year, a small fraction of the £11.5 billion (US$14 billion) it spent in 2021, according to British business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. The UK sent £1.07 billion to Asia-specific programmes and nations last year.

“We’ll work with China to tackle global challenges, but we can make a bigger difference spending UK aid where it is more needed,” Kwarteng said in a tweet, confirming the news.

In a separate written statement to Parliament, George Freeman, the minister for science, research and innovation, said the British government would continue to work with China on areas such as climate change and preventing antimicrobial resistance.

However, Britain would no longer use ODA funding for such research efforts after the end of this financial year, Freeman said.

The move comes just days after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss outlined a new international development strategy, in which the UK would use its aid and investment to “challenge dependency on malign actors” to offer alternatives for developing countries.

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