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Review
. 2017 Dec 9;390(10112):2595-2601.
doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32898-2. Epub 2017 Dec 8.

China's Silk Road and global health

Kun Tang  1 , Zhihui Li  2 , Wenkai Li  3 , Lincoln Chen  4
Affiliations
Review

China's Silk Road and global health

Kun Tang et al. Lancet. .

Abstract

In 2013, China proposed its Belt and Road Initiative to promote trade, infrastructure, and commercial associations with 65 countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe. This initiative contains important health components. Simultaneously, China launched an unprecedented overseas intervention against Ebola virus in west Africa, dispatching 1200 workers, including Chinese military personnel. The overseas development assistance provided by China has been increasing by 25% annually, reaching US$7 billion in 2013. Development assistance for health from China has particularly been used to develop infrastructure and provide medical supplies to Africa and Asia. China's contributions to multilateral organisations are increasing but are unlikely to bridge substantial gaps, if any, vacated by other donors; China is creating its own multilateral funds and banks and challenging the existing global architecture. These new investment vehicles are more aligned with the geography and type of support of the Belt and Road Initiative. Our analysis concludes that China's Belt and Road Initiative, Ebola response, development assistance for health, and new investment funds are complementary and reinforcing, with China shaping a unique global engagement impacting powerfully on the contours of global health.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of China's Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road
Figure 2
Figure 2
China's foreign aid and number of projects funded by development assistance for health, 2000–13 Gross foreign aid is the amount spent in each year. Projects are classified by category of expenditure. Data are sourced from AIDDATA and the JICA Research Institute
Figure 3
Figure 3
Channel and health focus of developmental assistance for health in 2013 from (A) China and (B) USA Data taken from AIDDATA and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. GFATM=Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. NGO=non-governmental organisations. SWAps=sector-wide approaches. HSS=health sector support.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Total capital base of Chinese banks and funds and the World Bank in 2015
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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