By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -China is increasing its diplomatic reach as President Donald Trump’s administration pares back America’s international presence, Democrats from the U.S. 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 U.S.-based employees, part of a total reduction of nearly 3,000 people for the U.S.-based workforce.
The administration has also cut billions of dollars in foreign aid, effectively shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development, which funded the majority of U.S. 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 programs.
Critics said the cuts would undermine Washington’s ability to defend and promote U.S. 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 labeling the United States 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,” she said.
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 U.S. 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 programs and development efforts, that committee researchers said China is expanding its influence.
It lists dozens of cases in which the committee researchers found that China had stepped in as the U.S. eliminated or cut back international programs, from funding vaccines and providing food to infrastructure development.
For example, in Africa, as the U.S. terminated food assistance programs, China in March donated $2 million in rice to Uganda. In May, after the U.S. terminated a $37 million 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 with leaders in Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia, the report said. The trip yielded an agreement in Vietnam for railroad connections, 37 cooperation agreements in Cambodia in sectors including energy, education and infrastructure and technical and manufacturing exchanges in Malaysia.
And in Latin America, China in May hosted the “China-Latin American and the Caribbean Forum” and announced it would provide a $9 billion credit line and additional infrastructure investments for the region.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Don Durfee and Ros Russell)
