The much-awaited update to the Pacific Aid Map showed a sharp drop in China's 2019 aid spend in the Pacific, despite the pressing development needs presented by COVID-19. While eight of the Pacific's ten major donors also saw falls in their aid spends from 2018 levels, China Aid dropped the most, falling 31 per cent to just 6 per cent of overseas development assistance (ODA) in the Pacific, a far cry from 2018 reports that the People's Republic of China (PRC) was set to become the region's

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... ng donor based on committed aid funds. This In Brief strongly concurs with the map's authors about the reasons for the relative decline. However, it's doubtful that 2018 represents a 'high-water mark' for China's aid to the region (Pryke and Dayant 30/9/2021), or indeed any sort of roll back in China's presence. The nature of China's engagement with the region is changing — in line with global trends — as China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and policy banks get more creative about how they fund their operations.