Social Sciences in China

Vol. 39, No. 1, 2018

 

The International Political Significance of Chinese and US Foreign Aid: As Seen in United Nations General Assembly Voting

(Abstract)

 

Pang Xun and Wang Shuai

 

The effect of China’s rapid development on Sino-US relations and the existing international order is an important theoretical issue in current international relations research. We use empirical research methods to explore whether and how China has influenced the results of US “vote-buying” in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) through foreign aid. We find that through the mechanisms of foreign policy preferences, vulnerability and credibility, Chinese foreign aid has decreased US manipulation of UNGA voting. However, this is not a subjective strategic choice on China’s part but the objective result of Chinese economic development. Taking the game of Sino-US foreign aid in international politics as the entry point and squarely facing the structural contradictions and competition that exist between China and the US will help us understand not only the problems and obstacles China will encounter on its future developmental path, but also the necessity and difficulty of risk control in Sino-US relations.

 

Keywords: foreign aid, UNGA voting, Sino-US relations, structural competition, strategic competition