Shifting the Balance

It is no secret that China is changing at an astonishingly fast pace. In less than a decade, Beijing has undergone an incredible metamorphosis, from a city with few private cars and even fewer skyscrapers to a bustling metropolis relentlessly preparing for the 2008 Olympics. These economic changes have been significant and obvious, but China still faces problems with HIV/AIDS, an ever-growing gap between the rich cities and the poor rural areas, and sustainable development through environmentally friendly technologies. The United Nations, being the world's largest humanitarian organization, has played an important role in helping China manage these problems. Yet as China's economy has improved, its role within the United Nations has changed as well. Where it once received significant amounts of aid, China is now a major contributor of aid, both within and without the UN structure. As a result, the power dynamics on the global stage are gradually shifting away from the United States, as China shows the rest of the world that it too can be relied on as a responsible global power.

One of the best examples of China's new commitment towards humanitarian efforts was its substantial donation of $22.6 million to countries affected by the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004. Most of this contribution was given through the United Nations. Other major contributions in the past include $5 million to the United States to help with Hurricane Katrina, and $26.73 million to those affected by an earthquake in Pakistan in October. Recently, 41 heads of state from Africa concluded a weekend-long Sino-African summit that resulted in the doubling of Chinese aid to the continent, as well the announcement of a variety of aid packages targeting public health and education. Less visible, though equally important, are the numerous infrastructure development projects that China has undertaken in neighboring Asian countries.

With China's huge economic growth and its significant international aid contributions, it is easy to forget that China is still the largest developing country in the world. It was only at the end of 2005 that the United Nations' World Food Programme completely phased out its operations in China. China has already fulfilled some of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 13 years before the 2015 deadline, but the UN reports that there is still much to be done in areas such as combating HIV/AIDS, promoting gender equality, and developing environmentally friendly policies. Since 1979, the United Nations Development Programme has contributed over $873 million towards projects that address these pressing issues, and in the next four years it plans to contribute another $280 million.

The question now is how China balances sending humanitarian aid abroad while simultaneously working towards its own internal development. Zhang Haibin, Director of the Center for International Organizations at Peking University, believes that these two goals are closely related: "China knows that it still has more than 100 million people below the international poverty line, so we need to take care of this. But China's development goes hand in hand with global development, and other countries should feel the benefits of China's development. China's economy would be unable to develop without development in other countries either." Indeed, one of the side effects of the generous humanitarian aid China offers is that China finds itself increasingly favored around the world. "If you help people out, they will naturally thank you, so it is mutually beneficial," Zhang said. Following the end of the Cold War and the breakdown of the bipolar international system, the United States was the sole superpower. Countries that had fallen out of favor with the United States or were unwilling to adhere to the strict conditions attached to American aid packages had nowhere else to turn. Now, China offers an alternative.

Traditional lenders like the World Bank and the United States are finding themselves outgunned by China's offers of aid. While the amount that China can offer may not always be greater, its offers are usually more attractive because they come with fewer requirements regarding things like corruption and human rights. China has said that it believes that such matters are internal affairs, and that China will not interfere in them. As a result, many countries that the United States might turn away from find that China is more than willing to give them aid in return for their favor-and their business. China, a country that is itself criticized for its human rights record, has long followed a policy of "economic development first, governmental reform later," and has applied this to its humanitarian aid as well.

The United States' image has suffered greatly in recent years due to it's proclaimed 'war on terrorism.' At the same time, China has significantly improved its image around the world by offering generous humanitarian aid packages. China may still be a developing country that is itself in need of aid, but it is showing that it is more than willing to spread the wealth from its economic growth, and as a result it is gaining many friends in the process. Some might say that as third world countries "choose sides," the China and the United States may find themselves at odds with each other, much like the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, vying for the smaller member states of the United Nations. Yet China has recently shown that its interests are very much in line with the United States', for example in acting as a critical player working to defuse the situation with North Korea. Sooner rather than later, the U.S. will find that China's influence can no longer be ignored, and that the country has gone from a "regional power with global influence" to a "global power with regional influence."