Chinese Government donates sports equipment worth RMB 59.2 million

On August 16, 2004, the Chinese Government and the Government of Ecuador signed Letters of Exchange for the acquisition of 2,000 pieces of sporting equipment, which would in turn be distributed to primary and secondary schools around the country. According to the country’s official register (Registero Oficial), the monetary value of the donation was RMB 59,230,000. Of this total cost, 20 million RMB was funded by the entire value of the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) additionally singed on August 16, 2004. The remaining 39.23 million RMB was funded through two ETCAs signed on March 20, 2002 and August 26, 2003, as well as a grant provided through Letters of Exchange signed November 28, 2002. On November 16, 2005, the sports equipment arrived in the Port of Guayaquil in Ecuador. China's Ambassador to Ecuador Liu Yuqin and Ecuador's Minister of Sports José Francisco Cevallos signed the handover agreement. The equipment was slated for distribution to primary and secondary schools in Ecuador on November 24, 2005. However, this project was plagued by controversy and allegations of corruption. The Ecuadorian President’s brother (Gilmar Gutiérrez) was ultimately dismissed from his position in the Congress (as a Deputy) for allegedly embezzling Chinese Government funds that were earmarked for the acquisition of sports equipment.

Additional details

The ETCAs signed March 20, 2002 and August 26, 2003, as well as the Letters of Exchange signed November 28, 2002, are captured separately as umbrella projects because it is unclear which of the three agreements funded (an) additional subproject(s). In total, the amount available between the three grants is 39.58 million RMB (25 million + 10 million + 4.58 million). However, these three grants only provided 39.23 million RMB to this project. 39.58 million - 39.23 million = 350,000 RMB. This indicates one of these three grants funded (an) additional subproject(s), unaccounted for in this database, worth 350,000 RMB. The ETCA signed August 16, 2004 should not be coded as a separate umbrella project because the full grant amount provided through the agreement (20 million RMB) is accounted for and was used exclusively to fund this project.

Number of official sources

5

Number of total sources

7