China offers $14.41billion foreign aid from 2010 to 2012

BEIJING - China allocated 89.34 billion yuan ($14.41 billion) for foreign assistance from 2010 to 2012, in the forms of grant, interest-free loan and concessional loan, said a white paper on China's foreign aid released Thursday.

In the three years, China provided 32.32 billion yuan of grants, mainly offered to help recipient countries build small or medium-sized social welfare projects, according to the white paper released by the Information Office of the State Council.

The grants, which were also offered to fund human resources development cooperation, technical cooperation, material assistance and emergency humanitarian aid, accounted for 36.2 percent of the total assistance volume, according to the white paper.

From 2010 to 2012, China offered 7.26 billion yuan of interest-free loans, which is mainly used to help recipient countries construct public facilities and launch projects to improve people's livelihood, taking up 8.1 percent of its foreign assistance volume.

Concessional loan, which grabs the lion's share of China's foreign aid, is mainly used to help recipient countries undertake manufacturing projects and large and medium-sized infrastructure projects, or for the supply of complete plants, machinery and electronic products.

In the three years, the concessional loans China provided amounted to 49.76 billion yuan, or 55.7 percent of its total assistance volume in the same period, according to the white paper.

To promote the realization of Millennium Development Goals, China directed most of its assisting funds to low-income developing countries, mainly in Asia and Africa, said the white paper.

In the three years, China provided assistance to a total of 121 countries, including 30 in Asia, 51 in Africa, nine in Oceania, 19 in Latin America and the Caribbean and 12 in Europe.

When providing foreign assistance, China adheres to the principles of not imposing any political conditions, not interfering in the internal affairs of the recipient countries and fully respecting their right to independently choosing their own paths and models of development, said the white paper.