China has spent more than 25 billion dollars on its Belt and Road Initiative. This initiative is designed to create the infrastructure to secure China’s trade routes and energy supplies. It is also being used to increase China's influence in the rest of the world. Many western governments see China's Belt and Road investments as an attempt to dominate the global trading network and ensure the strength of China's influence in global affairs.
You can see the global reach of the Belt and Road initiative on AidData's new interactive map of China's investments in countries around the world. The China Project Locations map shows the locations of Chinese-funded development projects across the globe. It claims to be the "most comprehensive source of public information" on the locations of Chinese global development.
Countries in Africa and Asia have probably been the biggest recipients of Chinese aid. The map reveals that China has also made lots of investments in South and Central America. New Zealand stands out on the map as being one of the only countries in the so called 'First World' to have welcomed aid from China. This aid seems to consist largely of educational scholarships, educational aid and donations to the Christchurch earthquake relief fund.
AidData's interactive map allows you to visualize China's government funded projects by size, sector and type. If you click on individual projects on the map you can view details on the size of funding and what the money is being used for. For example if you zoom-in on Addis Ababa in Ethiopia you can see that China has invested in numerous transportation projects in the city. This includes money for roads, bridges and for the expansion of the city's airport.
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