Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 06/2011

China in the Pacific: the new banker in town

Mary Fifita, Fergus Hanson

April 2011

Lowy Institute for International Policy

Abstract

This is the fourth in a series of Lowy Institute reports on China's aid program in the Pacific. They now cover the five-year period 2005-2009, offering the most detailed picture available of China's activities in the region. China has been increasing the loan to grant ratio of its aid and has now pledged over $US600 million to Pacific states. In Tonga, pledged loans from China equate to one third of its GDP.