Poor countries got $1.3 trillion loans from China. So did rich ones.

HONG KONG – As one of the

world’s most prolific lenders

, China has paid out more than US$1 trillion (S$1.3 trillion) in loans to the developing world to fund roads in Africa, ports in South America and railroads in Central Asia.

But the biggest recipient of its financing over the past two decades has been the United States, where Chinese banks have extended US$200 billion in financial support to American companies and projects, according to AidData, a research institute at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.