The Africa-China Reporting Project, in collaboration with the Boston University Global Development Policy (GDP) Center invite journalists, researchers and professionals to attend the capacity building informative webinar on interpreting data and accessing data sources of China’s engagements in Africa and globally.
Date: Wednesday, March 8 2023
Time: 08h00 – 09h30 AM EST // 15h00 – 16h30 SAST
Register here to attend
The Boston University Global Development Policy (GDP) Center manages a suite of five interactive public databases that collectively track hundreds of billions of dollars in Chinese loans and investment to a variety of sectors, including energy and other infrastructure development. The Center manages and updates these databases in a bid to provide transparent information to aid research, education, policymaking, journalism and accountability with regards to China’s overseas development finance and projects around the world.
Publishing this data has helped journalists analyze trends and work to understand China’s overseas economic activities. As a resource, these data projects can help stakeholders discover more about China’s overseas lending in an interactive and engaging way.
What is the status of China’s overseas lending? How can reporters use data to analyze the impacts of Chinese development projects and tell unique stories? And what can spatial analysis of Chinese development projects reveal about impacts on sensitive territories?
During the discussion, GDP Center researchers will demonstrate how to use the following databases and share key findings from the latest updates: (it is beneficial of attendees to review the databases prior to attending the Webinar, in order to present any questions or comments during the discussion)
- The China’s Overseas Development Finance Database is the first global, harmonized, validated and geolocated record of Chinese overseas development finance. Covering the years 2008-2021, the database includes 1,099 loan commitments from China’s two main development finance institutions (DFIs), the China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export-Import Bank of China (CHEXIM) to 100 governments, inter-governmental bodies, majority state-owned entities and minority state-owned entities with sovereign guarantees, totaling nearly half a trillion dollars, at $498 billion, from 2008-2021. The proximity of projects to three types of ecologically sensitive territories, Indigenous peoples’ lands, national protected areas and critical habitats, is also mapped.
- The Chinese Loans to Africa (CLA) Database is an interactive data project tracking loan commitments from Chinese development finance institutions (DFIs), commercial banks, government entities, companies and other financiers to African governments and state-owned enterprises. The CLA Database estimates Chinese financiers signed 1,188 loan commitments worth $160 billion with African governments and their state-owned enterprises between 2000-2020.
- The China’s Global Energy Finance (CGEF) Database is an interactive data project that exhibits financing for global energy projects from China’s development finance institutions (DFIs). From 2000-2021, Chinese DFIs provided 331 loans in energy sector financing worth $234.6 billion to 68 foreign governments.
Speakers:
- Bongiwe Tutu: Project Coordinator, Africa-China Reporting Project, Wits Centre for Journalism, University of the Witwatersrand
- Maureen Heydt: Assistant Director, Communications and Outreach, Boston University Global Development Policy Center
- Rebecca Ray: Senior Academic Researcher, Boston University Global Development Policy Center
- Oyintarelado (Tarela) Moses, Data Analyst and Database Manager, Global China Initiative, Boston University Global Development Policy Center
- Cecilia Springer, Assistant Director, Global China Initiative, Boston University Global Development Policy Center
Register here to attend
