US media: China donates money to IMF “BRICS: foreigners are short of money

US media: China donates money to IMF “BRICS: foreigners are short of money China on Monday (June 18) pledged to contribute $43 billion to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)...

China pledged on Monday (June 18) to contribute $43 billion to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help the IMF expand its resources and respond to the risks and challenges currently facing the world economy.

Beyond the “BRICS”, there are hundreds of millions of people living in poverty

China made this commitment at the seventh G20 leaders’ summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, which started on the 18th. China's contribution is part of the G20's commitment in April this year to expand resources for the International Monetary Fund.

Emerging economies have been demanding more say in international institutions, including the International Monetary Fund, to reflect their growing influence. The "BRICS" (BRICs), composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, represent 43% of the world's population and approximately 18% of economic output; the total foreign exchange reserves of these countries are US$4 trillion, of which China holds the largest share.

However, officials from the People's Bank of China said that while the Chinese government is generous to the outside world, it also faces doubts from the domestic public, because China's poor population is still hundreds of millions.

The "2012 China Sustainable Development Strategy Report" completed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2012 pointed out that according to the latest poverty line of "one dollar a day" set by the Chinese government at the end of 2011, there are approximately 128 million poor people with an annual income of less than 2,300 yuan (approximately 354 U.S. dollars), that is, about 1 in every 11 Chinese people is poor.

In contrast, the 2012 poverty line set by the federal government in the United States, the world's largest economy, takes a family of four as an example. The total income is US$23,050, equivalent to US$15 per person per day; for a family of eight, it is US$13 per person per day.

China's per capita GDP ranks only in the middle of the global ranking

Data released by the International Monetary Fund in 2011 show that China, as the world's second-ranked economy, its per capita GDP that year was based on purchasing power parity (Purchasing Power Parity). Calculated, it is US$8,382, ranking 92nd among 193 countries in the world; World Bank data in 2010 ranks China at 96th among 181 countries; statistics from the CIA World Factbook show that China ranks 95th among 194 countries.

In addition, China's rich-poor divide is serious. At the beginning of this year, the Chinese government refused to publish the Gini coefficient, which shows the gap between rich and poor, for the eleventh consecutive year, saying that the main reason was that the government was unable to fully calculate the income status of high-income groups.

The United Nations Human Development Report stated that China’s Gini Index in 2001 was 0.447; the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ 2005 report showed that the Gini Index that year was 0.47. If the Gini index is set between "0" and "1", if it is between 0.3 and 0.4, the gap between rich and poor is normal, and if it exceeds 0.4, it indicates that the gap is too large.

"Charity" actions are becoming more and more frequent

According to information released by the International Monetary Fund, the commitments of other "BRICS" countries to the organization this time are: Brazil, Russia and India each have US$10 billion, and South Africa has US$2 billion. Mexico, the host country of this G20 summit, will also contribute US$10 billion.

As China's international status increases, its "goodwill" actions become more and more frequent. According to incomplete statistics, this month alone, China announced that it will provide 150 million yuan in free aid to Afghanistan this year; it will lend another 10 billion U.S. dollars to other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization; last month, it said it would provide 120 million yuan in aid to Cambodia, and announced that it will provide 100 million yuan in free aid to Yemen, etc.

According to relevant information released by the State Council of China, China's foreign aid is mainly divided into three types: free aid, interest-free loans and preferential loans. Among them, free aid accounts for the largest share, accounting for about 40%, and preferential loans account for the smallest proportion.