Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/264395 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
Kiel Working Paper No. 2232
Publisher: 
Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), Kiel
Abstract: 
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China's mask and vaccine diplomacy have been widely discussed, but the debate relies on a few stylized data points. This article introduces a systematic way to measure China's foreign aid in almost real-time through official customs records of exported aid goods. Our results show significant shifts in China's aid after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. First, medical aid skyrocketed after the outbreak. It was initially dominated by face masks and other protective equipment and later by vaccines. This came at the expense of non-medical aid, which was 16.3 percent below its pre-pandemic level. Second, China's aid became global, clearly extending beyond the Global South. Third, in the aftermath of the initial outbreak in March 2020, China's aid became less responsive to both recipient need and political friendship, which can be mainly attributed to the rise of aid through non-government sources. However, in the vaccine diplomacy period of 2021, economic needs and political factors have regained their original importance.
Subjects: 
official development assistance
aid exports
China
COVID-19
mask diplomacy
vaccine diplomacy
Health Silk Road
JEL: 
F35
F59
H12
H84
I15
I18
P33
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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