HONG KONG, Nov 18 (Reuters) – The United States is the biggest recipient of China’s lending activities globally, according to a study which tracked Beijing’s credit activities and found it is increasingly lending to higher-income countries over developing countries.
The report, published on Tuesday by AidData, a research lab at U.S. university William & Mary, said China’s lending and grant giving totalled $2.2 trillion across 200 countries in every region of the world from 2000 to 2023.
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China has long been seen as a creditor to developing countries through its Belt and Road initiative, but is shifting toward lending to advanced economies — backing strategic infrastructure and high‑tech supply chains in areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence and clean energy.
Beijing’s portfolio size is two-to-four times larger than previous estimates suggest, AidData said, adding that China remains the world’s largest official creditor.
More than three-quarters of China’s overseas lending operations now support projects and activities in upper-middle-income countries and high-income countries.
US is the biggest recipient of Chinese loans, study shows
