As the world witnessed the remarkable growth of the Asian economy before the Financial Crisis and also an equally notable recovery thereafter, its presence in other international facets has never been more strongly felt than today as well.1 The rejuvenated South-South Cooperation (SSC)2 of Asian developing countries which covers international development activities such as the exchange of technology, resources and knowledge between developing countries attests to the emergence of Asia’s influence. Frequent and far-reaching international involvement of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)3 and the Republic of Korea (ROK)4 has been at the forefront of this trend.
1 According to the Economist, Asia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) is estimated to account for 35% of total GDP in 2010. In addtion, Asia’s share of world
currency reserves makes up for 61.1% of the total in 2008. Source: http://audiovideo.economist.com/
(accessed on Feb. 13, 2011)
2 There is an official unit in the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) which is charged of South-South Cooperation. Official website is http://ssc.undp.org/ (accessed on Feb. 13, 2011)
3 According to the New York Times, China’s second quarter GDP (1.33 trillion USD) passed that of Japan (1.28 trillion USD) and became the second largest economy in the world as of second quarter of 2010. Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/business/global/16yuan.html (accessed on Feb. 13, 2011)
4 Accoriding to the Central Intelligent Agency (CIA) of the US, South Korea’s GDP of 2010 is 1.5 trillion USD (at the PPP criteria) and ranked as 13th largest economy in the world. Source:
http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/korea_south/korea_south_economy.html (accessed on Feb. 13) South Korea also joined the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) which composes of developed donor countries on November 25, 2010. Source:
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China and South Korea share a unique foreign aid history. They started from very poor economic situations and received financial support from developed countries for a long period.5 6 Today they have changed their image to that of new leading donors.
As for China, even though they started their foreign aid as far back to the early 1950’s, the magnitude and diversity have dramatically increased since the 2000’s.7 8 On the other hand, despite their short history as donor country, South Korea shows the ambition to be a competent actor both in the committed amount and the impact induced by foreign aid.9
However, despite the growing importance in the international development (ID) field, there is little concrete information available. Where it can be found, it tends to consist of subjective judgments or speculations based on insufficient and incomplete
http://www.oecd.org/document/50/0,3343,en_2649_33721_44141618_1_1_1_1,00.html (accessed on Feb 13, 2011)
5 GDP per capita of China in 1980 was only 310.5 USD, while that of Korea was 1,689 USD in the same year. Retrieved from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) database (accessed on Jan 5, 2011) 6 China had received 23.6 billion USD of bilateral ODA from 1979 to 1998. Takamine, Tsukasa (2006), The Political Economy of Japanese Foreign Aid: The Role of Yen Loans in China’s Economic Growth and Openness, Pacific Affairs, 79(1), 32. South Korea had received the total foreign aid of 33.1 billiion USD from 1945 to 1999 from advanced countries and international organizations. Ministry of Finance and Economy (2007), Economic Development Cooperation Fund 20 Years, 34.
7 China and African countries launched the Forum on Chinia-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2000.
President Hu Jintao committed to double the 2006 level of aid to Africa over the next three years at FOCAC of 2006 in Beijing. Brautigam (2008a), China’s Foreign Aid in Africa: What Do We Know, in Rotberg, Robert I. (ed.), China into Africa: Trade, Aid , and Influence, Massachusetts: World Peace Foundation, 207.
8 According to Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM, 商务部) of China, they have provided foreign aid to more than 16o countries in various forms since 1950. Source:
http://yws.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/m/200801/20080105361773.html (accessed on May 22, 2011) 9 South Korea also committed to increase its ratio of ODA (Official Development Assistance)/GDP from 0.07% ( approximately 1.0 billion USD) to 0.25% (approximately 3.3billion USD) by 2015.
Source:
http://article.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.asp?total_id=3312868&cloc=rss%7Cnews%7Ctotal_list (accessed on Feb. 13, 2011) Furthermore, they have kept pace with developed donor countries by participating OECD DAC in 2010.
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information. For instance, due to the incoherence of Chinese governmental agency’s released data regarding its amount of aid, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact figure.10 As for Korea, though the statistical system is comparatively open,11 research on Korean foreign aid is not well documented.
This problem becomes even more exacerbated when it comes to the aid given to the African continent. China’s Grand Aid Plan for Africa in 2006 was well-known for its unprecedented magnitude and extraordinary generosity. In particular, President Hu Jintao pledged that they would double their aid to Africa by 2009.12 As for South Korea, although its aid volume toward Africa cannot meet that of China, Seoul has tried hard to increase their portion and volume of aid to Africa.13 However, it still remains relatively unknown as to what the actual driving forces have been behind the foreign aid policies of Beijing and Seoul. Therefore, a wide spectrum of conjectures on each country’s intention, means and expectation toward the recipient African countries have been formed but most are not academically substantiated.14
10 An associated press reported that China’s Premier said that China has given Africa more than 44billion USD in aid since beginning aid program. However, there has not been publicized details.
Brautigam, Deborah (2009), The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa, New York: Oxford University Press, 177.
11 There are databases to calculate related Korean foreign aid statistics both in the website of OECD DAC (http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=TABLE2A) and the Korean Exim Bank ( http://www.edcfkorea.go.kr/statistics/use.jsp?st_code=6&nd_code=1).
12 Brautigam (2009), op cit., 206.
13 Korean government announced at the Korea-Africa Economic cooperation Conference (KOAFEC) on Oct. 29, 2008 that Seoul will assist 760 million USD economic cooperation programs by 2012.
Source:
http://www.mosf.go.kr/_policy/policy06/policy06.jsp?boardType=general&hdnBulletRunno=76&cvbn Path=&sub_category=131&hdnFlag=1&cat=&hdnDiv=&select=subject&keyword=%EC%95%84%E D%94%84%EB%A6%AC%EC%B9%B4&hdnSubject=%EC%95%84%ED%94%84%EB%A6%AC
%EC%B9%B4&&actionType=view&runno=86031&hdnTopicDate=2008-10-29&hdnPage=1 (accessed on Feb. 13, 2011)
14 More than a few western commentators suspect that many emerging countries (especially China) have used foreign aid as a tool of securing energy resources or other political purposes. China Safari:
On the trail of Beijing’s Expansion in Africa written by Michel, Serge and Beuret, Michel (2009) is one of the examples.
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Given the growing importance of these two countries’ presence in Africa and the much needed development in the academic community about how they have implemented their financial assistance, we aim to clarify the significant underlying factors at work which have affected the two countries’ foreign aid policies in the Dark Continent. The findings can serve as a stepping-stone for further studies concerning the purpose behind donor countries’ aid strategy.