AidData’s 2022-2023 Perceptions of Chinese Overseas Development Survey (BRI Perceptions Survey) analyze how 1,650 public, private, and civil society leaders from 129 countries think about the PRC as a development partner, the trade-offs of its projects, and the BRI overall.

Seventy-nine percent of leaders surveyed viewed Beijing as actively supporting development in their country...Even as it faces headwinds amid stories of debt distress and environmental decay, the PRC remains the infrastructure partner of choice for 38 percent of leaders globally...Few leaders viewed the PRC as their preferred partner in social, environmental, and governance domains...

Leaders’ perceptions of Beijing’s development projects often align with its actual portfolio—bigger dollars and fewer policy conditions, but with lower levels of transparency, capacity, and quality...They give high marks to the PRC for improving access to public services and economic gains from connectivity, access to technology, and vocational training. Conversely, they see these advances coming at the expense of worsening pollution, climate vulnerability, and corruption...