China's architectural aid: Exporting a transformational modernism

•China's architectural aid epitomises the state's long-term, sophisticated engagement with less-developed countries.•China uses architectural exports as an instrument to enhance its political, economic and cultural influences.•A range of typical buildings aided by Chinese government and designed by design institutes are analysed.•Chinese architects are committed to cultivating a transformational modernism in architectural export.

China's architectural exports to less-developed countries, such as conference halls, government offices, hospitals, institutional headquarters, schools, stadia and theatres, have played a special role in the state's foreign aid and diplomatic strategy. Beginning in the late 1950s, such exported architectural projects were presented by the Chinese Communist Party-led government as gifts to many Asian and African nations in exchange for their ideological, political and diplomatic support. In the post-Mao era, these architectural exports were combined with economic assistance, debt relief and expanding market access, suggesting economic cooperation, political engagement and cultural communication. In this study, a range of typical buildings are woven with their particular historical and socio-political backgrounds into a cohesive narrative. This is the first attempt to examine and theorise the development and transformation of this distinctive phenomenon, using architectural aid as a lens through which to unpack the state's motivation for and the institutions/individuals' commitment to constructing China's global influence. It is argued that the exported architectural projects – profoundly marked by the state's intervention – demonstrated what we term a ‘transformational modernism’ that was both a product of social transformation in China and a positive engagement with the recipient nations' local conditions.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide