The remarkable growth of Chinese development finance is an important phenomenon that has received mixed reviews. This research aims to provide a preliminary overview of China’s outbound development finance as to its nature, composition, terms, scale and implications for sustainable development. The purpose is to facilitate understanding, exchange and learning between China and other financiers in development financing. The study provides:

• An initial mapping of China’s outbound development finance using the best available data compiled from different public sources.
• A discussion of some of the characteristics of China’s development finance, often referred to as unique, in relation to those of other major global financiers.
• A stocktaking of how China is positioned to contribute to the SDGs, and an outlook for China’s outbound development finance in terms of its roles and potential contributions to the SDGs.
• A preliminary analysis of a case study that demonstrates models, impacts and risks of China-financed projects overseas.