Study warns of China’s growing influence within international organizations

A Washington-based think tank, Center for Global Development (CGD), warns of China’s “increasing influence within international institutions.”

The CDG argues that while China still receives loans and aid from various international institutions such as the World Bank and UN agencies, it has also emerged as one of the most powerful donors, increasingly gaining voting power and decision-making roles within.

In its latest report, published this November 18, CDG enumerates the succession of international development bank contracts secured by China’s government, as Beijing contributed approximately $66 billion to these institutions.

China is now the fifth-largest donor across the full range of UN agencies focused on development, including the UN Development Programme, World Food Programme, and World Health Organization.

According to the report, China has surpassed neighboring Japan to become the second-largest contributor to international bodies, behind the United States.

The researchers reviewed China’s increase in donations, voting power, and presence in leadership positions at 76 major global institutions, including the International Monetary Fund, UN agencies such as the World Health Organization or the Gavi Vaccine Alliance.

The country’s voting power has significantly increased, largely due to its rapidly growing economy, and thanks to China’s discretionary contributions to such organizations experiencing a meteoric rise, accounting for over quadruple their initial annual contributions, according to the report’s data.

While some of this increase has been proportional to the growth of its national economy, China has substantially increased its voluntary donations, including at the World Bank’s low-income lending arm, the international development association (IDA), where it now holds the 6th spot of the top largest donors.

An indirect result of China’s growing influence within international organizations is Chinese firms benefiting from a multitude of procurement contracts for infrastructure and social services that these development banks fund, particularly at the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and African Development Bank.

In 2019, Chinese firms acquired over $7 billion in secured contracts, the most for any other country, as the procurement systems are based on a “lowest bid” standard.

Despite the report’s authors assuring that this “is not necessarily a cause for concern,” they believe that “further scrutiny in some areas” is needed, and that “reasonable efforts to temper China’s dominance” may have to be taken to prevent the country from “undermining global development goals.”