The United States is the biggest recipient of China's lending activities globally, according to a study which tracked Beijing's credit activities and found it is increasingly lending to higher-income countries over developing countries.

The report, published on Tuesday by AidData, a research lab at U.S. university William & Mary, said China's lending and grant giving totalled $2.2 trillion across 200 countries in every region of the world from 2000 to 2023. China has long been seen as a creditor to developing countries through its Belt and Road initiative, but is shifting toward lending to advanced economies — backing strategic infrastructure and high-tech supply chains in areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence and clean energy.

Beijing's portfolio size is two-to-four time

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