A new report by AidData, a research lab at William & Mary University, shows that the United States has received more loans and grants from China than any other country, a dramatic reversal of common perceptions about Beijing’s global lending priorities.
According to the study, China’s official-sector lending from 2000 to 2023 totalled $2.2 trillion, spread across nearly 200 countries.
Of that vast sum, more than $200 billion was directed into almost 2,500 projects in the U.S., making the country the single largest recipient of Chinese state financing.
Traditionally, much of China’s global lending through its policy banks has been associated with its Belt and Road Initiative, focused on developing countries. But the AidData report paints a very different picture: since 2000, the vast majority of Chinese credit has begun flowing to upper-middle-income and high-income nations.
More than 75% of the overseas lending portfolio now supports critical infrastructure, high-tech supply chains, and strategic sectors such as semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence, clean energy, and critical mineral extraction.
Brad Parks, executive director of AidData and lead author of the study, commented: “Much of the lending to wealthy countries is focused on critical infrastructure … and the acquisition of high-tech assets like semiconductor companies.”
The report reveals that Chinese state-owned entities have funded a remarkably wide array of U.S. infrastructure and high-tech projects. Highlights include:
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants in Texas and Louisiana, Data-centres in Northern Virginia, Terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Los Angeles International Airport, Crucial pipelines like the Matterhorn Express Natural Gas pipeline and the Dakota Access pipeline.
Credit lines and loans for major U.S. multinationals, including Amazon, Tesla, Boeing, Disney, General Motors, Ford, AT&T and Verizon. Financing for Chinese acquisitions of U.S. high-tech companies, particularly in strategic fields.
“The US, under both (former President Joe) Biden and Trump, have been beating this drum for more than a decade that Beijing is a predatory lender,” said Brad Parks, executive director of AidData.
One of the most concerning revelations in the report involves the lack of transparency around Chinese lending. AidData’s researchers found that a significant portion of loans were routed through offshore shell companies.
Based in jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, or Delaware, helping obscure the true origin of funds.
This opacity has raised red flags among analysts and policymakers, particularly because some funding appears to have enabled Chinese firms to acquire stakes in U.S. technologies tied to national security: robotics, biotechnology, and semiconductors are among the highlighted sectors.
Former White House investment adviser William Henagan warned that the lending arrangements may give Beijing “a chokehold on technologies” critical for future global competition.
The shift in China’s lending strategy, away from low-income countries and more toward wealthy, developed economies could have profound implications:
It signals Beijing’s intent to leverage state credit as a tool of geopolitical influence, rather than just development assistance.
Nations that once viewed Chinese loans with suspicion may need to reassess their own debt exposure and security risks.
For the U.S., the scale of Chinese involvement in critical sectors raises questions about economic dependence and regulatory oversight.
Brad Parks of AidData suggests the findings reflect a more sophisticated strategy: China is not only investing abroad, it is reshaping the global architecture by underwriting infrastructure, resources, and high-value technologies in supported countries.
At the same time, Beijing’s increasing financial reach into developed economies could reshape global power dynamics, making credit a new form of diplomacy. As Chinese lenders continue to expand their footprint, debates over transparency, leverage, and strategic risk are set to intensify.
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