A Cognitive Analysis on China’s Persistence in the No-Strings-Attached Foreign Aid Principle

China has been reforming its foreign aid (FA) policy since President Xi Jinping took office. However, since the 1950s, China has consistently followed the no-strings-attached foreign aid principle (NSAP). This article examines why China continues to adhere to NSAP and the challenges it may encounter. It uses the cognitive theory to analyse how China’s experience as an aid recipient and feedback from recipient countries about Chinese FA influence NSAP. The findings suggest that China’s leadership role in receiving FA and lessons learned from compromising NSAP drive its commitment to it. More importantly, NSAP has become a point of norm competition with developed donor countries. Additionally, feedback from recipient countries further supports China’s NSAP. Moreover, China’s development model, as demonstrated through its FA, offers an alternative to those of developed donor countries. However, China’s commitment to NSAP faces significant challenges.