China makes huge loans and donations of aid to neighboring countries for gargantuan construction projects quite often. The tradeoff is clear: poor Asian countries get roads, dams and other infrastructure. China gets a stable and accessible neighborhood in which to trade and develop its economy.

 

The Chinese loans compete with the World Bank and other traditional aid sources but offer funds without requiring environmental impact studies, relocation assistance for displaced people or penalties for corruption. Call it a competitive advantage.

 

A summary follows.

 

In the Philippines: a $2 billion dollar Chinese aid package will finance toll roads, a water supply system in Manila, and an ongoing rail project.

 

In Myanmar: roads connecting the interior to the south, dams, and a deep-water port on the west coast. Neither the U.S. nor the World Bank has programs in Myanmar due to the repressive nature of the government.

 

In Cambodia: China offered $200 million in ñno strings attachedî loans to pay for bridges, a hydropower plant, and a fiber-optic network. At the same time, four World Bank programs were suspended due to corruption. Cambodia recently granted China rights to offshore oil fields valued at up to $1 billion a year.

 

In Laos: hundreds of miles of major roads. Last year construction began on an environmentally controversial dam known as ñNam Theun 2î with World Bank funding. World Bank officials say that if they didnÍt fund it, China would have.

 

In the first ten months of 2005, trade between China and Africa increased 39% to $32.17 billion dollars, largely due to an increase in ChinaÍs oil imports. In its effort to secure access to African energy, China has lavished aid on the continent.

 

To offset the cost of its imports and aid program, it sells arms to anyone interested in buying, regardless of the nature of the regime.

 

$200 billion in loans and aid flowed into Angola to fund roads, schools, railroads, hospitals, and bridges, all built by Chinese companies, as well as fiber-optic cable and training for telecommunications workers. Angola exports 25% of its oil to China.

 

China has sold the Sudanese government $100 million worth of fighter planes that have been used for, among other things, terrorizing civilians in Darfur.

 

In Zimbabwe, the government of Robert Mugabe purchased $200 million in fighter jets and military vehicles from the Chinese. It has also been reported that China swapped a shipment of small arms for elephant ivory, and supplied a radio-jamming device that can block independent news sources from reaching ZimbabweÍs citizens.