U.S. attempts to smear China's foreign aid policy denounced

BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Luo Zhaohui, head of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), has refuted recent misleading statements made by some U.S. officials to slander China's foreign aid policy.

Luo made the remarks at the Anti-Corruption Forum on Global Development Cooperation, jointly organized by the CIDCA and the Ministry of Commerce, on Thursday.

Speaking at the forum, he said China has always attached great importance to foreign aid over the past 73 years and yielded rich fruits, whereas the United States often writes "empty checks" of assistance to seek personal gains and to openly interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

He pointed out that the United States has a poor foreign aid record, making it difficult to win the trust of the world.

The United States never shies away from using aid as a tool to advance its own interests and to openly meddle in the internal affairs of other countries, Luo said.

The U.S. side has put forward at least 60 foreign aid initiatives in recent years, Luo said, adding that though the initiatives appear to offer substantial funding, they are difficult to implement and are "empty promises" or merely a game of numbers.

China's foreign aid policy, in contrast, has no political strings attached and helps recipient countries build their self-development capacity, Luo said.

He added that China's foreign aid policy has made a significant contribution to promoting the common development of the world, particularly toward the improvement of the economic, social and living conditions of people in developing countries.

China has actively responded to the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), with debt service payment suspensions of more than 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the G20's total debt service suspension, making it the largest contributor to DSSI, Luo said.

"We believe that in the face of setbacks in the global economic recovery, uncertainties brought about by the epidemic and the worsening food crisis, all countries should work together to overcome difficulties," Luo added.