Axel Dreher is Professor of International and Development Politics, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. He is also a Fellow at CEPR, CESifo, and AidData. Andreas Fuchs is Professor of Development Economics and Director of the Centre for Modern East Asian Studies at the Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany. He is also Director of the Kiel Institute China Initiative. Bradley Parks is the Executive Director of AidData, a research lab at William & Mary, Virginia. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Global Development. Austin Strange is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at The University of Hong Kong. Michael J. Tierney is Professor of Government and Director of the Global Research Institute at William & Mary, Virginia.

• 1. Why do we know so little about the aims and impacts of China's overseas development program?; 2. The journey to global creditor: a brief history of Chinese development finance; 3. Counting and comparing apples and dragon fruits; 4. Follow the money: where does Chinese government funding go?; 5. Apples and dragon fruits: how does China allocate aid and credit across countries?; 6. Aid à la carte: the subnational distribution of Chinese development finance; 7. Paving the way to growth and development? The socioeconomic impacts of Chinese development projects; 8. Poisonous dragon fruits? The side effects of Chinese development finance; 9. Banking on the belt and road: the future of global development finance.

'Banking on Beijing directs a spotlight on a hot policy issue: China's development aid and lending. The authors subject assumptions and anecdotes to the hard test of data – examining almost 4500 projects, involving $358 billion, in 138 countries, over 15 years. They identify humanitarian and commercial motivations, diverse means and ends, risks and gains, and similarities and contrasts with other countries' assistance. The book concludes that China is 'neither hero nor villain,' but a financing reality that the world should analyze with comprehensive, transparent data. This pathbreaking Open Data work should help developing countries that are dealing with China, international donors and lenders, and even further an improvement in China's policy.' Robert B. Zoellick, Former President of the World Bank, US Trade Representative, and Deputy Secretary of State