China not looking to fill US 'vacuum' in aid programs

China's foreign aid seeks no selfish interests, and the nation does not intend to fill the so-called vacuum after cuts by the United States in aid programs, the China International Development Cooperation Agency said on Friday.

Li Ming, spokesman for the agency, made the remarks in response to reports claiming that China is rapidly filling the vacuum left by the US freezing and reducing?foreign aid,?as well as stopping funding and withdrawal from relevant international organizations.

Foreign aid is not a battlefield for major power competition but a grand stage for international cooperation, he told a news conference in Beijing.

Countries from the Global North and South should leverage their respective strengths and expand trilateral and multilateral cooperation, he said.

Some developed countries, disregarding global development challenges, have failed to fulfill their obligations in development assistance and to implement the international consensus on development cooperation, Li said.

Their attempts to shift blames and shirk responsibilities are doomed to fail, he added.

China is committed to increasing resource input in international development despite changes in the international situation, maintaining the consistency and stability of its foreign aid policies, and narrowing the development gap between the North and South, he said.

The agency is actively implementing the country's cooperation plans reached with Africa, Central Asia and Latin America in recent engagements with those regions.

According to Li, China is carrying out agricultural technical assistance in 21 African countries and has dispatched over 200 Chinese experts to the region.

While assisting the continent in promoting infrastructure construction, the two sides also actively expand cooperation in emerging areas such as digital economy and information network, Li added.

In Central Asia, Li said the agency will continue to make every effort to implement the 1.5 billion yuan ($209 million) in grants, and accelerate the approval and implementation of aid projects according to the economic and social development priorities and needs from regional countries to improve public wellbeing.

In the next two years, the agency will provide 3,000 training opportunities for Central Asian countries, he added.

Regarding the Latin America and Caribbean region, the spokesman noted that from 2025 to 2027, the agency will offer 10,000 training opportunities for Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and implement 300 small and smart assistance projects in the region.

China will also provide support in disaster prevention and reduction tailored to the actual needs of countries in the region, he said.