Beijing has become a go-to source of development finance and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Philippines. In Beijing’s Big Bet on the Philippines, the authors meticulously piece together data from multiple sources to assess the money, relationships, and outcomes from two decades of PRC investment. They follow the money to track $9.1 billion in PRC financing for more than 200 development projects from 2000-2022, spotlighting Beijing’s revealed priorities in what projects it finances, where, and when in the Philippines. The authors then scrutinize the relationships behind these investments to uncover the major players, their roles, and their track records. Finally, they assess Beijing’s performance in the Philippines—to what extent does it follow through on its commitments, how does it manage the risk of public harm from its projects, and what are the downstream effects across society?
School Authors: Samantha Custer
Other Authors: Bryan Burgess, HK Kim, MF Krisnadi, Kelsey Marshall, Divya Mathew, F Patrick, AD Saputra, Jonathan A Solis, Nara Sritharan