China is overhauling the way it lends to developing nations, a strategy that may help their largest official creditor maintain a narrowing lead over the U.S. and its Group of Seven (G7) allies.
Beijing has begun moving away from the big bilateral deals it was eager to strike a decade ago ¡ª when it first launched its flagship Belt and Road initiative (BRI) that mainly lends to infrastructure projects ¡ª in favor of collaborative lending that reduces its exposure to financial risk, according to published by AidData at William and Mary, a public university in Virginia.
The result is a moderate pullback in spending, though China still beats G7 countries. The Asian nation in 2021 provided aid and loans worth $79 billion to low- and middle-income nations, more than the $61 billion provided by the U.S., according to the latest available data from AidData. The World Bank that year made commitments worth around $53 billion.
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