A Norm-Taker or a Norm-Maker? Chinese aid in Southeast Asia

Abstract As China expands its development assistance in Southeast Asia, is Chinese aid beginning to emulate international norms and practices or sustaining its own distinct approach to development assistance? This essay argues that China's socialization into international norms varies with the thickness of the institutional environment. In Laos and Cambodia, China's enhanced collaboration with international consortia, improved transparency, and project diversity point to nascent socialization. China's aid to Myanmar, however, remains opaque and largely self-interested. At the regional level, Beijing is bolstering its influence over the norms and practices of regional developmental institutions. Notes *James Reilly is Lecturer in Northeast Asian Politics at the University of Sydney, and the author of Strong Society, Smart State: The Rise of Public Opinion…