The Comparative Impact Analysis of Chinese and Turkish Development Assistance to Ethiopia from a South-South Cooperation Perspective

Many “Emerging Powers" that have recently assumed a more important international role have significantly increased their economic activities in Africa. These new development partners have shown a substantial increase in their development cooperation activities. China and Turkey are no exception as they stand out as one of the most important emerging actors in Africa today and thus are not new to Ethiopia. Since Emperor Haille Sillasie’s era, these two countries have been delivering aid to Ethiopia and to Africa since the end of colonial period. Development assistances from both countries have similarities in some important and inter-related respects. They both give monetary and non-monetary forms of assistance; both countries are also motivated by a combination of strategic, political interests and mutual benefits with commercial intent. As such, they are similar to traditional donors in that their aid practices are tied with some conditionalities equipment, companies and labour as well as services. However neither country has conditions on governance, democracy and human rights. In the meantime, both China and Turkey have valuable contributions to make towards Ethiopia’s development in the spirit of South-South cooperation, which needs to be understood in the context of the changing global development assistance architecture. The present study indicates that the development assistances from China and Turkey to Ethiopia, has a direct and indirect impact which is at the same time complimentary and competitive to western aid , and thus have both opportunities and challenges. In this light, we also recommend policy interventions to minimize the challenges and maximize the benefits of the cooperation, which can be implemented unilaterally by Ethiopia and also by China and Turkey as well as through the cooperation of the three. But as for Turkey, a “Triangular Model” of cooperation, in collaboration with a Western donor could produce excellent out comes with European Union due to the Western oriented foreign policy of Turkey.