The debate over Chinese foreign economic assistance is a polemical one ininternational relations circles.As Chinas engagement with its neighbors deepens, so tooproliferate the questions surrounding Chinas motivations.This paper investigatesChinas foreign assistance programs in its neighborhood, specifically those targeting thetransport infrastructure industry as a vehicle for regional development in Asia.Byidentifying the primary actors responsible for such assistance programs, this researchshows that Chinas external assistance is inextricably linked to its own objectives fornational development.Furthermore, these assistance programs must be understood interms of Chinas conception of an Asia First policy as well as of South-South cooperation,and, even more so, in the larger context of China own development and global rise.　　Asias four sub-regions, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, South Asia and Northeast Asia, areexceedingly diverse in terms of political systems, population, and resources, but all sharea common plight: weak to non-existent transport infrastructure.China has stepped intothe fold with ease to help fill Asias developmental gap."Going global" and Chinas"peaceful rise" have been major facilitators for the expansion of Chinese presenceregionally."Going global," once a purely business oriented policy, has become a dualuse tool: one part economic and one part diplomatic to pursue Chinas foreign policyobjectives, coupling economic partnerships with the realization of broader geopoliticalinterests.Throughout Asias sub-regions, we see a distinct pattern of Chineseinvolvement in the construction and financing of road and rail.Nevertheless, China isstill learning the ropes as a donor state, often caught between the dilemmas of short-termversus long-term benefits.Still in its infancy, Chinese aid lacks a concrete foreignassistance strategy; time and continued observation of Chinese activities in its peripherywill indicate if the PRC can wield its assistance, founded on essential developmentalbuilding blocks, to serve not only its own but also Asias regional benefit.