The UK government’s aid to China has fallen rapidly but there is limited transparency over where it is still being spent, a watchdog has said.
According to a new report by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), UK aid to China fell to approximately £48 million in 2021-22—down from £82 million in 2019—and is expected to continue to decline.
It follows a 2021 announcement by the then Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab that aid to China from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) would be reduced by 95 percent, with the continuing programmes focused on promoting democracy and human rights.
Britain’s then Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab speaks at the Aspen Security Conference on March 17, 2021. (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)
But the ICAI warned that there is still very limited information publicly available on which UK aid to China will continue, and called for more transparency from the government and British Council on aid spending….