China has, so far, expended about $60 billion (400bn RMB) on foreign assistance in over 150 countries and international organisations, the country’s aid agency has said.
The spokesperson of China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), Mr Tian Lin, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing a group of African and Asian journalists in Beijing.
The agency was set up to strengthen the strategic planning and overall coordination of China’s foreign aid, including supervising and evaluating projects implementation.
He said about 5,000 foreign aid projects had been implemented in many developing countries. These projects, he said, have engendered development in those countries and strengthen China’s relations with them.
Though Lin didn’t give the breakdown of the figures, but said African and Asian countries were the biggest beneficiaries of China’s foreign assistance.
The assistance, he said, were mostly in areas such as health, agriculture, capacity building, humanitarian assistance, among others.
China’s foreign aid, according to him, was based on mutually beneficial win-win cooperation to build a community of shared future for mankind.
China is a developing country and has about 16 million poor populations. Despite the challenge, Lin said China was still providing assistance to developing countries around the world.
Lin, meanwhile, stressed that Chinese foreign aid was without any political string attached, and that the government had never pursued economic return in providing foreign assistance.
China is firmly committed to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs of countries while giving aids, he said.
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