China is increasing its diplomatic reach as President Donald Trump's administration pares back America's international presence, Democrats from the US Senate foreign relations committee said in a report released on Monday.
The report, the result of months of staff travel and research, was released as the Trump administration makes deep cuts to the state department, including beginning on Friday to fire more than 1,350 US-based employees, part of a total reduction of nearly 3,000 people for the US-based workforce.
The administration has also cut billions of dollars in foreign aid, effectively shutting down the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which funded most US humanitarian and development assistance worldwide. That led to the firing of thousands of its employees and contractors and the slashing of more than 80% of its programmes.
Critics said the cuts would undermine Washington's ability to defend and promote US interests abroad. Research published in The Lancet medical journal said the cuts to USAID and its dismantling could result in more than 14-million additional deaths by 2030.
“Within days of the Trump administration taking office and starting to roll back our commitments around the world, China was already labelling the US an unreliable partner,” senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top committee Democrat, told reporters on a conference call about the report.
“At a time when we're retreating, they are expanding their footprint.”
The Trump administration says its changes help align foreign policy with Trump's “America First” agenda and are part of a push to shrink the federal bureaucracy and cut what Trump officials say has been wasteful spending.
Trump has said the US pays disproportionately for foreign aid and he wants other countries to shoulder more of the burden.
The Democrats' 91-page report listed ways, from broadcasting to health programmes and development efforts, committee researchers said China is expanding its influence.
It lists dozens of cases in which the committee researchers found China had stepped in as the US eliminated or cut back international programmes, from funding vaccines and providing food to infrastructure development. For example:
- in Africa, as the US terminated food assistance programmes, China in March donated $2m (R35.6m) in rice to Uganda;
- in May, after the US terminated a $37m (R658.7m) HIV/Aids grant in Zambia, China said it would help the African nation fight HIV/Aids, including by donating 500,000 rapid HIV-testing kits and planning more meetings to discuss its continued partnership on the issue;
- in Southeast Asia, Chinese President Xi Jinping embarked on a tour to meet leaders in Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia, the report said. The trip yielded:
- an agreement in Vietnam for railroad connections,
- 37 co-operation agreements in Cambodia in sectors including energy, education and infrastructure; and
- technical and manufacturing exchanges in Malaysia;
- in Latin America, China in May hosted the “China-Latin American and the Caribbean Forum” and announced it would provide a $9bn (R160.21bn) credit line and additional infrastructure investments for the region.
Reuters
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