1978年中国实行改革开放后，同其他发展中国家的经济合作由过去单纯提供援助发展为多种形式的互利合作。中国根据国情适度调整了对外援助的规模、布局、结构和领域，进一步加强对最不发达国家的援助，更加注重提高对外援助项目的经济效益和长远效果，援助方式更为灵活。为进一步巩固已建成生产性援助项目成果，中国同部分受援国开展了代管经营、租赁经营和合资经营等多种形式的技术和管理合作。一些已建成援外生产性项目通过采取上述合作模式，在改善企业经营管理和提高生产水平等方面，取得了比传统技术合作更为显著的成效。经过调整巩固，中国对外援助走上了更加适合中国国情和受援国实际需求的发展道路。

    20世纪90年代，中国在加快从计划经济体制向社会主义市场经济体制转变的过程中，开始对对外援助进行一系列改革，重点是推动援助资金来源和方式的多样化。1993年，中国政府利用发展中国家已偿还的部分无息贷款资金设立援外合资合作项目基金。该基金主要用于支持中国中小企业与受援国企业在生产和经营领域开展合资合作。1995年，中国开始通过中国进出口银行向发展中国家提供具有政府援助性质的中长期低息优惠贷款，有效扩大了援外资金来源。与此同时，中国更加重视支持受援国能力建设，不断扩大援外技术培训规模，受援国官员来华培训逐渐成为援外人力资源开发合作的重要内容。2000年，中非合作论坛成立，成为新形势下中国与非洲友好国家开展集体对话的重要平台和务实合作的有效机制。通过这一阶段的改革，中国对外援助的发展道路进一步拓宽，效果更加显著。

After the adoption of the policies of reform and opening up in 1978, China’s economic cooperation with other developing countries extended from economic aid to multi-form and mutually-beneficial cooperation. China adjusted the scale, arrangement, structure and sectors of its foreign aid in accordance with its actual conditions. It strengthened its foreign assistance to the least developed countries, paid more attention to the economic and long-term effects of aid projects, and provided aid in more diversified and flexible ways. To consolidate the achievements of existing productive projects, China conducted multi-form technical and managerial cooperation with recipient countries, such as managing aid projects on behalf of recipient countries, lease management and joint ventures. After adopting the aforesaid cooperation models, some already-completed productive projects accomplished more than traditional technical co-operation in improving enterprise management and production level. Through adjustment and consolidation, China’s foreign aid embarked on a development road which suits better to China’s actual conditions and the needs of recipient countries.

In the 1990s, in the course of the shift from the planned economy to the socialist market economy, China took a series of measures to reform its foreign aid mechanism, focusing on diversifying the sources and means of funding. In 1993, the Chinese government set up the Foreign Aid Fund for Joint Ventures and Cooperative Projects with parts of the interest-free loans repaid to China by developing countries. The fund was mainly used to support Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises to build joint ventures or conduct cooperation with the recipient countries in the production and operation spheres. In 1995, China, via the Export-Import Bank of China, began to provide medium- and long-term low-interest loans to other developing countries, effectively expanding funding sources of its foreign aid. Meanwhile, it attached greater importance to supporting the capacity building of recipient countries, and kept enlarging the scale of technical training. Officials from recipient countries receiving training in China became an important part in the cooperation of human resources development between China and those countries. In 2000, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was initiated, and it became an important platform for dialogue between China and friendly African countries and an effective mechanism for pragmatic cooperation in the new circumstances. Through reforms in this period, China further ex-panded its foreign aid with more notable effects.