Documentation

AidData TUFF Project ID

This field provides the unique identification number that AidData has assigned to every project record in the 2.0 version of the dataset. Whenever applicable, this number matches the identification number in AidData’s Global Chinese Official Finance Dataset, Version 1.0

Recommended For Aggregates

This field identifies projects that AidData recommends including in analysis that requires the aggregation of projects supported by official financial (or in-kind) commitments from China, including analysis of monetary amounts and project counts. It is useful for identifying formally approved, active, and completed Chinese government-financed projects -- and excluding all cancelled projects, suspended projects, and projects that never reached the formal approval (official commitment) stage. The field is set to "Yes" for all projects with a status designation of Pipeline: Commitment, Implementation, and Completion that have not also been designated as umbrella agreements. It is set to “No” for all cancelled projects, suspended projects, and projects that never reached the official commitment stage (i.e. those projects with a status designation of Pipeline: Pledge, Suspended, and Cancelled). Additionally, to avoid double-counting, the field is set to “No” for all umbrella agreements. For more information on umbrella agreements, see the description of the “Umbrella” field in this file. Also, note that not all projects with a “Recommended for Aggregates” value of “True” identify a financial transaction value (since some transactions are difficult to monetize, such as in-kind donations, technical assistance, scholarships, and training activities).

Umbrella

This field identifies projects as "umbrella" agreements (with a “Yes” designation) in two circumstances. The first circumstance is when a financial agreement was signed by at least one party in the donor/creditor country and one party in the receiving country, but funds were not allocated for a specific project/purpose (or set of projects/purposes) until a subsequent date. These types of umbrella agreements include Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreements (ECTA) issued by China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), master facility agreements issued by China Eximbank, lines of credit issued by China Development Bank, and Framework Agreements issued by a variety of official sector institutions in China. Due to the nature of the TUFF data collection process, the subsidiary projects/transactions approved and financed under these types of umbrella agreements are likely captured elsewhere in the dataset. The second circumstance is when a single project is financed by multiple Chinese government or Chinese state-owned institutions. In these cases, AidData creates one umbrella record to record the full amount of the financial commitment for the project and a linked set of subsidiary project records to capture the respective financial commitments of each Chinese government or Chinese state-owned institution. All umbrella agreements in the dataset are assigned a designation of "No" in the "Recommended for Aggregates" field to help users avoid double counting.

Financier Country

This field captures the country from which the official financial or in-kind transfer originated.

Recipient

This field captures the country from which the entity receiving the official financial or in-kind transfer is located. If multiple entities from multiple recipient countries are involved, this field records the geographical region to which the recipient countries belong.

Recipient Region

This field captures the geographical region to which the recipient country belongs: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Oceania, or Multi-Region.

Commitment Year

This field captures the year in which an official financial commitment (or official commitment to provide in-kind support) was codified through the signing of a formal agreement by an official donor/lender in China and one or more entities in a recipient country or a set of recipient countries. In the event an official commitment was made for a project that entered implementation, but the official commitment year is not identifiable, AidData records the first year of project implementation as a proxy for the official commitment year. In the event an official commitment was made for a project that has not yet reached implementation, and the official commitment year is not identifiable, AidData records the year in which the underlying commercial contract (supported by the official commitment) was issued. If this information is unavailable, AidData records the first year in which an informal pledge was made as a proxy for the official commitment year. For projects with a status designation of Pipeline Pledge (i.e. cases in which an official commitment was not made), AidData records the year in which the informal pledge was made.

Commitment Year Estimated

For projects with a status designation of Pipeline: Commitment, Implementation, Completion, Suspended, and Cancelled, this marker designates whether AidData estimated the commitment year or reported the actual year in which the official commitment was made. The field is set to "Yes" when the “Commitment Year” field is estimated by AidData. It is otherwise set to “No,” which indicates that AidData has reported the actual commitment year. For projects with a status designation of Pipeline Pledge, this marker designates whether AidData estimated the pledge year or reported the actual year in which the informal pledge was made.

Implementation Start Year

This field captures the year in which a project supported by an official financial (or in-kind) commitment from China began implementation. Whenever possible, this field is based on the precise calendar day when project implementation began, which is captured in the 'Actual Implementation Start Date' field. For projects that involve the construction of buildings or infrastructure, the 'Implementation Start Year' field seeks to capture the first year of construction. In cases when the first year of construction is unavailable but a proxy for the first year of construction (e.g., the year in which a formal groundbreaking ceremony took place, a project commencement order was issued to the contractor responsible for implementation, or a project implementation agreement was signed) can be identified, AidData records the proxy for the first year of construction. For projects that do not involve construction but involve the provision of personnel, training, analytical/advisory support, equipment, supplies, or commodities, the 'Implementation Start Year' field captures the first year in which some type of support was delivered to an entity in the recipient country. For projects that only involve financial transactions (e.g., cash donations, loans issued to shore up a country’s foreign exchange reserves, forgiveness or rescheduling of outstanding debts), the 'Implementation Start Year' field captures the year in which the first disbursement was made (or the year in which new terms and conditions went into effect for a previously signed loan/export credit agreement).

Completion Year

This field captures the year in which a project supported by an official financial (or in-kind) commitment from China was completed. Whenever possible, this field is based on the precise calendar day when a project was completed, which is captured in the 'Actual Completion Date' field. For projects that involve the construction of buildings or infrastructure, the 'Completion Year' field seeks to capture the last year of construction. In cases when the last year of construction is unavailable but a proxy for the last year of construction (e.g., a road or railway is opened for use, a power plant reaches its commercial operation date and begins selling electricity to customers) can be identified, AidData records the proxy for the last year of construction. For projects that do not involve construction but involve the provision of personnel, training, analytical/advisory support, equipment, supplies, or commodities, the 'Completion Year' field captures the last year in which some type of support was delivered to an entity (or set of entities) in the recipient country. For projects that only involve financial transactions (cash donations, loans issued to shore up foreign exchange reserves, forgiveness or rescheduling of outstanding debts), the 'Completion Year' field captures the year in which the last disbursement was made (or the year in which new terms and conditions went into effect for a previously signed loan/export credit agreement).

Title

This field briefly describes the name or nature of the project. The identification numbers of other transactions that are linked to the project are also recorded in this field.

Description

This field provides a detailed summary of the main purposes and activities of the project; the funding, receiving, and implementing agencies involved in the project; the terms and conditions of the financial transaction(s) supporting the project; the timing of project implementation and completion; the challenges that arose during project implementation and how funding, receiving, and implementing agencies responded to these challenges; and main achievements and shortcomings of the project. For loan- and export credit-financed projects, AidData also records the monetary value and timing of underlying commercial contracts, disbursements, and repayments in this field.

Staff Comments

This field captures comments from AidData staff that clarify the assumptions, logic, and evidence used to address challenging coding and categorization determinations. It also provides foreign translations of project titles (used for source identification purposes), information about related projects/transactions, and information about the ownership structures of funding, receiving, and implementing agencies.

Status

This field identifies the latest status of a project. Each project is assigned to one of six categories: Pipeline: Pledge, Pipeline: Commitment, Implementation, Completed, Suspended, Cancelled. A project assigned to the “Pipeline: Pledge” category is one that an official sector institution in China indicated it was interested in supporting (or willing to consider supporting) but did not result in an official commitment. Projects assigned to this category include those that are identified in letters of intent, term sheets, memoranda of understanding, and non-binding announcements. All projects given a status designation of Pipeline: Commitment, Implementation, Completed, Suspended, or Cancelled reached the official commitment stage (i.e., a binding, written agreement that governs the provision of financial or in-kind support for a specific project/purpose was signed by an official sector donor or lender in China and an entity in a recipient country). A project assigned to the “Pipeline: Commitment” category is one that is backed by an official commitment but has not yet entered implementation. A project assigned to the “Implementation” category is one that is backed by an official commitment and has begun implementation with financial or in-kind support from the source of the commitment. A project assigned to the “Completion” category is one that is backed by an official commitment and that reached completion with financial or in-kind support from the sources of the commitment. Projects assigned to the “Suspended” and “Cancelled” categories are those that were backed by an official commitment but subsequently suspended or cancelled. The coding of the “Status” field in the 2.0 dataset is based on sources that were available as late as August 2021.

Intent

This field seeks to measure the primary purpose of the project. Each project is assigned to one of five categories: Development, Commercial, Representational, Mixed, or Military. Projects assigned to the “Development” category are those that are primarily oriented towards the promotion of economic development and welfare in the recipient country. Projects assigned to the “Commercial” category are those that primarily seek to promote the commercial interests of the country from which the financial transfer originated (e.g., encouraging the export of Chinese goods and services). Projects assigned to the “Representational” category are those that primarily seek to promote a bilateral relationship with another country or promote the language, culture, or values of the country from which the financial transfer originated (e.g., the establishment of a Confucius Institute or Chinese cultural center). If a project is assigned to the “Mixed” category, this designation indicates that it was not possible for AidData to identify the primary purpose of the project and the project has multiple purposes (i.e., some combination of development, commercial, and/or representational intent). Projects assigned to the “Military” category are those that seek to promote the security interests of the country from which the financial transfer originates or strengthen the capabilities of military institutions in the recipient country.

Flow Type

This field captures the type of financial or in-kind transfer supporting the project. Each project is assigned to one of nine categories: Loan, Export Buyer's Credit, Supplier's Credit/Export Seller's Credit, Debt Forgiveness, Debt Rescheduling, Grant, Scholarships/Training in Donor Country, Freestanding Technical Assistance, and Vague (TBD). In cases of debt forgiveness, the Umbrella field is set to "Yes" if the original contracted loan could be captured elsewhere in the dataset as a loan project record. This is done to avoid double counting. If the original contracted loans occured before 2000 (when the dataset begins to track Chinese Development Finance), then the Umbrella field is set to "No." As such, if users are interested in isolating all cases of debt forgiveness, AidData recommends turning the “Recommended for Aggregates” filter off and then using the “Flow Type” field to identify all projects assigned to the “Debt Forgiveness” category (irrespective of whether they are coded as umbrella projects). Also, to help users avoid double-counting, AidData does not populate any fields related to transaction amounts [Amount (Original Currency), Original Currency Amount (Constant USD2017), Amount (Nominal)] for projects assigned to the “Debt Rescheduling” category. However, users who wish to undertake analysis of debt reschedulings can find detailed information about the terms and conditions of these reschedulings in the “Description” fields of the projects that are assigned to the “Debt Rescheduling” category.

Concessional

This marker designates whether the flow is concessional in nature or not. For loan- and export credit-financed projects, this marker identifies whether the loan terms were provided on concessional terms or not. The concessionality determination is based on OECD's grant element calculator and 25% grant element threshold. For grants, scholarships, technical assistance, training activities, and debt forgiveness, the concessional marker is set to "Yes". If the concessionality is unknown, this marker is set to "vague".

Flow Class

Based on OECD-DAC guidelines for Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Other Official Flows (OOF), this field assigns projects to one of three categories: ODA-like, OOF-like, Vague (Official Finance). Projects are assigned to the ODA-Like category if they meet three criteria. First, the primary purpose of the project must be the promotion of economic development and welfare in the recipient country (i.e., have development intent). Second, the official commitment supporting the project must be concessional in nature (i.e., grant, technical assistance, scholarship, debt forgiveness, or loan with a grant element of at least 25%). Third, the project must take place in a country that qualifies for ODA based on its income level. Projects that are supported by an official financial or in-kind transfer but do not meet all three of these criteria are assigned to the OOF-Like category. Projects that are backed by an official commitment but cannot be reliably categorized as ODA-like or OOF-like because of insufficiently detailed information are assigned to the “Vague (Official Finance)” category. Projects in this residual category primarily consist of (a) those with an unspecified “Flow Type” (i.e., values of “Vague TBD”); and (b) those financed with development-intent loans for which AidData lacks the borrowing terms (interest rates, grace periods, or maturity dates) needed to concessionality determinations.

Sector Code

This field provides a 3-digit sector code based upon the primary sectoral focus of the project. It is based upon the OECD’s sector categorization scheme. There are 24, three-digit OECD sector codes: education (110), health (120), population policies/programs and reproductive health (130), water supply and sanitation (140), government and civil society (150), other social infrastructure and services (160), transport and storage (210), communications (220), energy (230), banking and financial services (240), business and other services (250), agriculture, forestry and fishing (310), industry, mining, and construction (320), trade policies and regulation (330), general environmental protection (410), other multisector (430), general budget support (510), developmental food aid/food security assistance (520), other commodity assistance (530), action relating to debt (600), emergency response (720), reconstruction relief and rehabilitation (730), disaster prevention and preparedness (740), and unallocated/unspecified (998).

Sector Name

This field provides a sector name based upon the primary sectoral focus of the project. It is based upon the OECD’s sector categorization scheme. There are 24, three-digit OECD sector codes: education (110), health (120), population policies/programs and reproductive health (130), water supply and sanitation (140), government and civil society (150), other social infrastructure and services (160), transport and storage (210), communications (220), energy (230), banking and financial services (240), business and other services (250), agriculture, forestry and fishing (310), industry, mining, and construction (320), trade policies and regulation (330), general environmental protection (410), other multisector (430), general budget support (510), developmental food aid/food security assistance (520), other commodity assistance (530), action relating to debt (600), emergency response (720), reconstruction relief and rehabilitation (730), disaster prevention and preparedness (740), and unallocated/unspecified (998).

Funding Agencies

This field captures the name of the agency that issued the official financial or in-kind commitment. The agency identified in this field must be based in the country (the People’s Republic of China) from which the official financial or in-kind commitment originated. For projects assigned to the Pipeline: Pledge category, this field captures the name of the official sector agency that issued the pledge. The same “origin rule” applies to funding agencies that issued pledges rather than commitments. If multiple Chinese funding agencies are involved, the entries are pipe-delimited.

Funding Agencies Type

This field captures the type of funding agency that issued the commitment or pledge. Each project is assigned to one of six categories: Government Agency, State-Owned Policy Bank, State-Owned Commercial Bank, State-Owned Bank, State-Owned Company, and State-Owned Fund.

Cofinanced

This marker indicates whether a separate funding agency (belonging to the financier country or another country) provided funding for the project.

Cofinancing Agencies

This field provides the names of the cofinancing agencies providing funding for the project. If multiple cofinancing agencies are involved, the entries are pipe delimited.

Cofinancing Agencies Type

This field captures the type of cofinancing agency that provided funding. Each co-financing agency is assigned to one of twelve categories: Government Agency, State-Owned Bank, State-Owned Policy Bank, State-Owned Commercial Bank, State-Owned Company, State-Owned Fund, Intergovernmental Organization, Special Purpose Vehicle/Joint Venture, Private Sector, NGO/CSO/Foundation, Other, or No Organization Type Specified.

Cofinancing Agencies Origin

This field indicates the origin of the co-financing agency with respect to whether it is from the financier country, the recipient country, or another country. Each co-financing agency is assigned to one of the following categories: China, Recipient Country, or Other.

Receiving Agencies

This field provides the name of the agency designated to receive and manage the financial or in-kind transfer. For projects that are financed with loans or export credits, the receiving agency is the entity responsible for debt repayment. If a receiving agency (borrower) on-lends to the proceeds of a loan or export credit to an additional entity or entities, all entities with formal repayment responsibilities are identified in the “Receiving Agency” field (as pipe-delimited entries). Likewise, if more than one entity is responsible for receiving and managing an incoming grant or an in-kind transfer, all of these entities are identified in the “Receiving Agency” field (as pipe-delimited entries).

Receiving Agencies Type

This field captures the type of agency designated to receive and manage the incoming financial or in-kind transfer. Each receiving agency is assigned to one of ten categories: Government Agency, State-Owned Bank, State-Owned Company, State-Owned Fund, Intergovernmental Organization, Special Purpose Vehicle/Joint Venture, Private Sector, NGO/CSO/Foundation, Other, or No Organization Type Specified.

Receiving Agencies Origin

This field indicates the origin of the receiving agency with respect to whether it is from the financier country, the recipient country, or another country. Each receiving agency is assigned to one of the following categories: China, Recipient Country, or Other.

Implementing Agencies

This field provides the name of the agency responsible for implementing the project activities. If more than one agency is responsible for implementing the project activities, all such agencies are identified in the “Implementing Agencies” field (as pipe-delimited entries).

Implementing Agencies Type

This field captures the type of agency responsible for implementing the project activities. Each implementing agency is assigned to one of ten categories: Government Agency, State-Owned Bank, State-Owned Company, State-Owned Fund, Intergovernmental Organization, Special Purpose Vehicle/Joint Venture, Private Sector, NGO/CSO/Foundation, Other, or No Organization Type Specified.

Implementing Agencies Origin

This field indicates the origin of the implementing agency with respect to whether it is from the financier country, the recipient country, or another country. Each receiving agency is assigned to one of the following categories: China, Recipient Country, or Other.

Accountable Agencies

This field provides the name of any agency other than the receiving agency that has a contractual obligation to ensure that the official creditor (i.e. funding agency) directly or indirectly recovers the funds it lent to the receiving agency. These “accountable agencies” include any third-parties that (i) provide a repayment guarantee in the event the borrower (i.e. receiving agency) cannot service its debt; (ii) issue a credit insurance policy to ensure repayment in the event the borrower cannot service its debt; or (iii) pledge one or more sources of collateral that can be seized in the event the borrower defaults on its repayment obligations. If more than one agency other than the receiving agency has a contractual obligation to ensure that the official creditor recovers the funds it lent to the receiving agency, all of these agencies are identified in the “Accountable Agencies” field as pipe-delimited entries.

Accountable Agencies Type

This field captures the type of accountable agency that has a contractual obligation to ensure that the official creditor (i.e., funding agency) directly or indirectly recovers the funds it lent to the receiving agency. Each accountable agency is assigned to one of ten categories: Government Agency, State-Owned Bank, State-Owned Company, State-Owned Fund, Intergovernmental Organization, Special Purpose Vehicle/Joint Venture, Private Sector, NGO/CSO/Foundation, Other, or No Organization Type Specified.

Accountable Agencies Origin

This field indicates the origin of the accountable agency with respect to whether it is from the financier country, the recipient country, or another country. Each accountable agency is assigned to one of the following categories: China, Recipient Country, or Other.

Amount (Original Currency)

This field captures the monetary amount that the funding agency committed (or pledged) in its original currency of denomination. For projects that were at some point supported by an official commitment (i.e., projects with status designations of Pipeline: Commitment, Implementation, Completed, Suspended, Cancelled), this field captures the original commitment amount. For projects with status designations of Pipeline: Pledge, this field captures the amount of funding that was pledged.

Original Currency

This field captures that currency of denomination associated with the monetary amount that the funding agency committed (or pledged), as recorded in the Amount (Original Currency) field.

Amount (Constant USD2017)

This field captures the monetary value of the official commitment (or pledge) issued by the funding agency in constant 2017 U.S. dollars. To calculate this value, AidData first converts the financial commitment (or pledge) amount in its original currency of denomination to nominal U.S. dollars at the average exchange rate in effect during the commitment (or pledge) year, and then converts this amount to constant 2017 U.S. dollars using the OECD’s deflation methodology to adjust for inflation and ensure comparability over time and space (see Appendix D for details).

Amount (Nominal)

This field captures the monetary value of the official commitment (or pledge) issued by the funding agency in nominal U.S. dollars. It is one of the inputs used to calculate financial commitment (and pledge) amounts in constant 2017 U.S. dollars, as recorded in the Amount (Constant USD2017) field.

Planned Implementation Start Date (MM/DD/YYYY)

This field captures the day on which a project supported by an official financial (or in-kind) commitment from China was originally scheduled to begin implementation. Whenever possible, this field is based on the precise calendar day when the project was originally scheduled to begin implementation. However, in cases when AidData is only able to identify the month and year in which project implementation was scheduled to begin (e.g., May 2018), the “Planned Implementation Start Date” field is set to the first day of the month (e.g., 05/01/2018).

Planned Completion Date (MM/DD/YYYY)

This field captures the calendar day on which a project supported by an official financial (or in-kind) commitment from China was originally scheduled to reach completion. Whenever possible, this field is based on the precise calendar day when the project was originally scheduled to reach completion. However, in cases when AidData is only able to identify the month and year in which a project was scheduled to reach completion (e.g., May 2018), the “Planned Completion Start Date” field is set to the first day of the month (e.g., 05/01/2018).

Actual Implementation Start Date (MM/DD/YYYY)

This field captures the calendar day on which a project supported by an official financial (or in-kind) commitment from China began implementation. Whenever possible, this field is based on the precise calendar day when project implementation began. However, in cases when AidData is only able to identify the month and year in which project implementation began (e.g., May 2018), the “Actual Implementation Start Date” field is set to the first day of the month (e.g. 05/01/2018). For projects that involve the construction of buildings or infrastructure, the “Actual Implementation Start Date” field seeks to capture the first day of construction. In cases when the first day of construction is unavailable but a proxy for the first day of construction (e.g., the date on which a formal groundbreaking ceremony took place, a project commencement order was issued to the contractor responsible for implementation, or a project implementation agreement was signed) can be identified, AidData records the proxy for the first date of construction. For projects that do not involve construction but involve the provision of personnel, training, analytical/advisory support, equipment, supplies, or commodities, the “Actual Implementation Start Date” field captures the first day in which some type of support was delivered to an entity (or set of entities) in the recipient country. For projects that only involve financial transactions (cash donations, loans issued to shore up a country’s foreign exchange reserves, forgiveness or rescheduling of outstanding debts), the “Actual Implementation Start Date” field captures the day on which the first disbursement was made (or the day on which new terms and conditions went into effect for a previously signed loan/export credit agreement).

Actual Completion Date (MM/DD/YYYY)

This field captures the calendar day on which a project supported by an official financial (or in-kind) commitment from China was completed. Whenever possible, this field is based on the precise calendar day when a project was completed. However, in cases when AidData is only able to identify the month and year in which a project was completed (e.g., May 2018), the “Actual Completion Date” field is set to the first day of the month (e.g., 05/01/2018). For projects that involve the construction of buildings or infrastructure, the “Actual Completion Date” field seeks to capture the last day of construction. In cases when the last day of construction is unavailable but a proxy for the last day of construction (e.g., a road or railway is opened for use, a power plant reaches its commercial operation date and begins selling electricity to customers) is available, AidData records the proxy for the last day of construction. For projects that do not involve construction but involve the provision of personnel, training, analytical/advisory support, equipment, supplies, or commodities, the “Actual Completion Date” field captures the last day on which some type of support was delivered to an entity (or set of entities) in the recipient country. For projects that only involve financial transactions (cash donations, loans issued to shore up foreign exchange reserves, forgiveness or rescheduling of outstanding debts), the “Actual Completion Date” field captures the day on which the last disbursement was made (or the day on which new terms and conditions went into effect for a previously signed loan/export credit agreement).

Loan Type

For loan- and export credit-financed projects, this field captures the nature of the debt that was issued. This field has five different categories: Interest-Free, Concessional, Non-Concessional, No Information, and Some Information.

Maturity

This field captures the total number of years it will take the borrower to repay a loan or export credit, as specified in the original loan or export credit agreement. Maturity lengths are inclusive of grace periods. In cases when a loan or export credit’s maturity is modified after an official commitment is issued, AidData captures the maturity modification through a separate record in the dataset that is given a flow type designation of “Debt Rescheduling.”

Interest Rate

This field captures the rate of interest (in percentage terms) that applies to a loan or export credit, as specified in the original loan or export credit agreement. In cases when the interest rate is tied to a floating rate such as LIBOR or EURIBOR, AidData calculates the value of the floating rate in the month (or year) when the official commitment was issued. In cases when a loan or export credit’s interest rate is modified after an official commitment is issued, AidData captures the interest rate modification through a separate record in the dataset that is given a flow type designation of “Debt Rescheduling.”

Grace Period

This field captures the number of years for which the borrower (receiving agency) is not expected to make principal repayments to the creditor (funding agency), as specified in the original loan or export credit agreement. In cases when a loan or export credit’s grace period is modified after an official commitment is issued, AidData captures the grace period modification through a separate record in the dataset that is given a flow type designation of “Debt Rescheduling.”

Management Fee

This field captures the management fee (in percentage terms) that applies to the loan or export credit, as specified in the original loan or export credit agreement. A management fee is a one-time, lump sum fee that is charged as a percentage of the face value of the loan. In cases when a loan or export credit’s management fee is modified after an official commitment is issued, AidData captures the management fee modification through a separate record in the dataset that is given a flow type designation of “Debt Rescheduling.”

Commitment Fee

This field captures the commitment fee (in percentage terms) that applies to the loan or export credit, as specified in the original loan or export credit agreement. A commitment fee is a fee that a borrower must pay to compensate the lender for its commitment to lend; it is usually payable semi-annually and the size of the fee is usually based on a fixed percentage of the undisbursed loan amount. In cases when a loan or export credit’s commitment fee is modified after an official commitment is issued, AidData captures the commitment fee modification through a separate record in the dataset that is given a flow type designation of “Debt Rescheduling.”

Grant Element

The field captures the grant element of the loan or export credit, at the time that the original loan or export credit agreement was signed. To calculate the grant element of a loan or export credit, which is a measure that varies from 0 percent to 100 percent, one needs to calculate the discounted cost (or “net present value”) of the future debt service payments that will be made by the borrower. This calculation requires information about the loan or export credit’s face value, maturity length, grace period, and interest rate. When AidData has access to loan or export credit’s face value, maturity length, grace period, and interest rate, it uses the OECD’s grant element calculator (assuming a fixed, 10 percent discount, 2 repayments per year, and equal principal repayments). In theory, a grant element calculator can generate values above 100% or below 0%. However, AidData bounds grant element values so that they cannot assume negative values (since negative values imply lending terms that are “less favorable than market terms,” which is nonsensical if market terms are risk-adjusted prices agreed by willing buyers and sellers of credit) or values that exceed 100%. In cases when AidData does not have access to enough information to use the OECD’s grant element calculator but the sources that underpin the project record identify a grant element estimate, AidData records the grant element estimate in this field.

Guarantee Provided

This field provides a marker of whether it is known that a loan or export credit repayment guarantee was issued by a third-party (accountable agency). It assumes a value of “Yes” whenever a sovereign or corporate guarantee is issued in support of a loan or export credit.

Insurance Provided

This field provides a marker of whether it is known that a third-party (accountable agency) issued a credit insurance policy to the borrower (receiving agency). For example, it assumes a value of “Yes” whenever a loan or export credit is backed by a credit insurance policy issued by China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (SInosure).

Collateralized/Securitized

This field provides a marker of whether it is known that one or more sources of collateral (security) can be seized in the event the borrower defaults on its loan/export credit repayment obligations. It assumes a value of “Yes” when (i) a loan/export credit is collateralized through a formal lien or security interest; (ii) a borrower is required to deposit project-related revenues or unrelated revenues in a special account, escrow account, or revenue account that can be accessed (and debited) by the lender; and/or (iii) a security agent is appointed (to enforce rights against the collateral in the event that the borrower defaults on its repayment obligations). AidData also codes all pre-export finance (PXF) facilities as collateralized since they are almost always secured by (1) an assignment of rights by the producer under an ‘offtake contract’ (i.e., a sale and purchase contract between the producer and a buyer of that producer of goods or commodities), and (2) a collection account charge over a bank account into which proceeds due to the producer from the buyer of the goods or commodities under the offtake contract are credited.

Collateral

This field describes the nature of the collateral (security) that can be seized in the event the borrower defaults on its loan/export credit repayment obligations.

Official Source Count

This field provides a count of the total number of official sources used to create the project record. Official source types include Donor/Recipient Official Source Implementing/Intermediary Organization Source, and Other Official Source (non-Donor, non-Recipient, non-Implementing).

Non-Official Source Count

This field provides a count of the total number of non-official sources used to create the project record. Non-Official source types include NGO/Civil Society/Advocacy (non-Donor, non-Recipient, non-Implementing), Media Report, Social Media, including Unofficial Blogs, Academic Journal Article, and Other Academic (Working Paper, Dissertation), and Other.

Source URLs

This field provides URLs to the sources that were used to create the project record. The entries are pipe delimited.

Source Titles

This field provides the titles of the source articles, reports, and websites used to create the project record. The entries are pipe delimited.

Source Publishers

This field provides the names of the publishers of the source articles, reports, and websites used to create the project record. The entries are pipe delimited.

Source Type

This field identifies the type of sources that were used to create the project record. The entries are pipe delimited.

Geographic Location

This field provides a description of the geographical locations of project activities. Whenever possible, AidData captures geographical information that makes it possible to identify (i) the precise physical boundaries and exact locations of buildings and facilities (e.g. schools, hospitals, stadiums, government buildings, power plants, and factories) with polygons or points; (ii) the precise geographical scope of special economic zones, industrial parks, mining concessions, protected areas, and plots of land under cultivation via polygons or points; and (iii) the exact routes of linear infrastructure (e.g., roads, bridges, tunnels, railways, power lines, canals, and pipelines) via line vectors. Whenever possible, AidData also records OpenStreetMap and GoogleMaps URLs that capture the geographical locations and features of projects. An important caveat is that AidData is only able to provide these types of geographical details for the subset of projects in the 2.0 dataset that have physical footprints (e.g. roads, railways, transmission lines) or involve activities at specific locations (e.g. medical teams stationed at a given hospital, equipment given to park rangers to patrol a protected area).

geoJSON URL Viz

This field provides stable URLs where users can view the geoJSON visualizations associated with each geographical location/feature of the project (when such information is available). These geoJSON shapefiles were constructed by AidData by using the OpenStreetMap URLs that are recorded in the “Geographic Location” field. AidData has made the complete set of GeoJSON files along with usage tips, and related documentation accessible via https://github.com/aiddata/china-osm-geodata

geoJSON URL DL

This field provides stable URLs where users can download the geoJSON shapefiles associated with each geographical location/feature of the project (when such information is available). These geoJSON shapefiles were constructed by AidData by using the OpenStreetMap URLs that are recorded in the “Geographic Location” field. AidData has made the complete set of GeoJSON files along with usage tips, and related documentation accessible via https://github.com/aiddata/china-osm-geodata

Contact Name

This field records the names of the people who were involved in the project and/or the financial (or in-kind) transfer for the project whenever this information is available.

Contact Position

This field records the position titles of the people who were involved in the project and/or the financial (or in-kind) transfer for the project whenever this information is available.

ODA Eligible Recipient

This field designates whether the recipient country was eligible for ODA (based on income level and OECD DAC categorizations) in the year that the official commitment was issued. For projects with a status designation of “Pipeline: Pledge,” this field designates whether the recipient country was eligible for ODA (based on income level and OECD DAC categorizations) in the year that the informal pledge was issued.

Source Quality Score

This metric varies on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 indicating that the project record is exclusively underpinned by unofficial sources and 5 indicating reliance upon multiple, official sources.

Data Completeness Score

This metric varies on a scale of 0 to 5, with 5 indicating that the basic fields of the project record are complete. The “threshold” for a score of 5 is similar to the key fields in the OECD-DAC’s Creditor Reporting System: an actual rather than estimated commitment year, a non-missing transaction amount, a flow type/flow class that is not defined as “Vague”, and identifiable funding, implementing, and receiving agencies.

Project Implementation Score

This metric varies on a scale of 0 to 5, with higher scores indicating that more implementation details have been captured in the project record. The following implementation details are considered: whether the project’s implementing agency (or agencies), implementation start and completion dates (actual or planned), and geographical locations are specified; and whether the project has a specified sector allocation. Project Implementation Scores are only calculated for project records with a “Recommended for Aggregates” value of “True” and a “Status” value of “Implementation” or “Completion.

Loan Detail Score

This metric varies on a scale of 0-5, with higher values indicating that more financial transaction details are captured in the project record. Loan Detail Scores are only calculated for project records with a “Recommended for Aggregates” value of “True” and a “Flow Type” designation of “Loan,” “Export Buyer’s Credit,” or “Supplier's Credit/Export Seller's Credit.” A score of 5 indicates that a loan or export credit’s interest rate, maturity, transaction value, loan type, funding agencies, and receiving agencies are all specified (i.e., not missing).