Report

The price of dependency: Unpicking the People’s Republic of China’s influence and coercion across the Commonwealth.

This report from UK think tank the Coalitiion for Global Prosperity explores China’s influence and coercion across the Commonwealth.

Consecutive UK governments have underinvested in the UK’s relationships with Commonwealth countries, to the benefit of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which has become the largest trading partner and, in many cases, the largest bilateral debt owner of Commonwealth countries.

As a result, the PRC is increasingly able to exert influence and coerce Commonwealth countries into aligning with the PRC’s core foreign policy aims. 2025 was the highest year for Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) engagement ever, with the PRC offering $128.4 billion in construction contracts and a further $85.2 billion in investments. In 2025, African countries accounted for nearly half of all BRI construction projects (47.2%).

As a result of PRC development loans, the PRC owns a significant amount of bilateral debt in 31 out of the 56 Commonwealth countries, which represents well over half of the Commonwealth.

The PRC is a large bilateral debt owner in 16 African countries, four Asian countries, six Pacific countries, and five Caribbean and South American countries in the Commonwealth.