Authors: Eugene Tan and Hoang Thi Ha
Published: 6 May 2026
ISEAS Perspective 2026/33
China is a significant partner for large-scale infrastructure building in Southeast Asia through its flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). According to AidData, China provided approximately US$163 billion in loans and grants to lower- and middle-income countries in Southeast Asia between 2000 and 2023. A 2017 Asian Development Bank (ADB) report highlighted China’s important role in regional infrastructure investment, noting that without Chinese financing, developing Asian countries would need to raise infrastructure spending by 5% of their GDP to sustain the annual investment of US$1.7 trillion required through 2030 for continued growth.
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