Chinese aid and corruption in African local governments

Abstract

Does foreign aid reshape citizen views on governments? How does Chinese aid relate to corruption perception in African local governments? Studying 33 African countries from 2000 to 2014 (175 590 respondents), Chinese aid heightens perceived corruption in local councillors and officials. Corruption scandals likely contribute to negative views of both China and local governance. Control variables like World Bank aid and Confucius Institutes disprove alternate theories. Heterogeneous effects demonstrate that China's aid is unwelcome among low‐skilled individuals who feel threatened by its expansion, magnifying corruption perception. This suggests that Chinese aid's unfavourable image fosters scepticism among African citizens and undermines collaborating local governments.

Impact of China's community of shared destiny policy (CCSDP) on development and its bearing on trade and ethnicity in Africa

“…Chinese investments and infrastructure projects have been criticized in some instances for favoring Han Chinese employees over local African workers, resulting in tensions and protests in the African continent (Br€ autigama and Tang, 2011;Wegenast et al, 2019). Furthermore, African governments have been chastised for directing more Chinese aid such as Chinese assistance and investment to areas populated by individuals who share their ethnicity (Dreher et al, 2016;Cha, 2024). This has raised concerns about how the Community of Shared Destiny strategy will achieve their goal and whether it will exacerbate these already-existing ethnic tensions in African nations.…”

“…The graft problem is one more obstacle the CCSDP must overcome. Some Africans are resentful of China because they believe that China is not playing by the same rules as other nations and that China has been accused of participating in corrupt practices in Africa, such as bribery and kickbacks (Ang, 2020;Cha, 2024). In addition, concerns about the debt trap have emerged, highlighting worries about China's possible neo-colonial power over African countries especially in light of the uneven trade conditions between China and Africa (Karlsson, 2020;Pattnaik and Panda, 2022).…”

“…, 2019). Furthermore, African governments have been chastised for directing more Chinese aid such as Chinese assistance and investment to areas populated by individuals who share their ethnicity (Dreher et al ., 2016; Cha, 2024). This has raised concerns about how the Community of Shared Destiny strategy will achieve their goal and whether it will exacerbate these already-existing ethnic tensions in African nations.…”