In most industrialized nations, international development assistance is overseen by the foreign affairs ministry. Not so in China: Its Department of Aid to Foreign Countries is part of the Ministry of Commerce.
China is known for approaching foreign aid as a strategic investment allowing the country to send Chinese workers around the globe to build roads and factories, often in exchange for natural resource or other favors.
The way the country defines and calculates international assistance differs from other industrialized nations, especially members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. While China considers financial support of joint ventures a form of assistance, OECD members do not, for instance.