Matt Ferchen on China as a development actor

China’s engagement as a development actor is seen as controversial, especially in the West. While the Chinese leadership portrays development as a solution to almost all problems both domestic and foreign, some Western observers see China as a bad actor in developing nations. How does the Chinese concept of development differ from ideas in the West? What are the aims of it and what are – often unintended – outcomes? And what can recipient nations do to shape Chinese engagement in a way that r...