Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:
China Swoops In to Replace Asian USAID Efforts Axed by
Trump (2/2)
Bloomberg - Iain Marlow and Philip J. Heijmans
Wed, March 26, 2025 at 7:22 a.m. PDT·6 min read
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‘Diplomatic Gift’
“It’s a diplomatic gift” to China, said Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. “In every country where there’s a serious USAID cut, if they put a small amount of money into a health and education project and say, ‘Look, we’re ramping up,’ that does seem to be a bit of a publicity gift for them. And I’m sure they’re smart enough to take it.”
Since the Trump administration moved to shut down USAID, terminate most of its foreign aid contracts, and furlough or place on leave most of its employees, US lawmakers, development experts and national security professionals have highlighted the geopolitical risks of curtailing US foreign aid in the developing world.
Many of those lawmakers and experts have warned that China could move in, gaining further influence over developing nations after wooing officials in Africa, Asia and South America for years with tens of billions in loans focused mostly on infrastructure through Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
And it certainly has. China already announced funding for a Cambodian de-mining initiative that was dropped, and later restored, by the US. In mid-March, Beijing also announced an early childhood development project in Rwanda, where USAID recently curtailed contracts. And Chinese officials have reportedly offered to make up for funding gaps in Nepal, nestled between India and China.
Will Parks, the Cambodia representative for the United Nations Children’s Fund, said in a statement that the organization and Cambodia signed a partnership with China in 2024, based on a proposal from 2022. It was launched earlier this month and “complements” funding from other nations, Parks said.
“Cambodia has made tremendous progress for children over the past decade,” he said. “But further reductions of aid budgets could jeopardize these hard-won achievements.”
Cambodia’s government was explicit about drawing a link.
“The Cambodian government works with many partners, and we never rely on any one partner exclusively,” government spokesman Pen Bona said via text message in response to questions. “So if one partner withdraws support, we seek to find another partner to replace it.”
China “will continue to provide assistance to economic and social development” in Cambodia “under the framework of South-South cooperation,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“China’s aid policy remains consistent and clear,” the Foreign Ministry continued. “China’s principles of non-interference, not attaching any political strings, not giving empty promises remain unchanged.”
Marocco didn’t respond to a request for comment.
While members of the Trump administration have said the canceled projects brought no benefits to Americans, Diana Putman, who retired as USAID’s acting assistant administrator for Africa, said the agency’s billions in foreign assistance helped give US ambassadors a crucial advantage.
“Their leverage and ability to make a difference in terms of foreign policy in that country is backed up by the money that they bring, and in the Global South that money is primarily the money that USAID has,” Putman said.
And while China may exploit the US withdrawal of aid funding from important markets, Beijing “will not step in” to replace crucial global health spending in less strategic countries that are at the greatest risk from disease, Council on Foreign Relations experts Thomas Bollyky and Yanzhong Huang wrote in Foreign Affairs this week.
“I would hope it doesn’t get completely lost in the story of the diplomacy that actual people are going to die as a result of this,” said Kenny of the Center for Global Development. “And that’s sad.”
Translation
中國迅速介入，接替被特朗普取消的美國國際開發署亞洲援助計劃
(2/2)
（繼續）
“外交禮物”
全球發展中心高級研究員Charles Kenny 說： “這是給中國的一份外交禮物”; “在每個受美國國際開發署大幅削減撥款的國家，如果中國將少量資金投入其衛生和教育項目並說: ‘看，我們正在加大力度’，這對中國來說似乎是一種宣傳禮物。我相信中國會足夠聰明去接受它。”
自從特朗普政府關閉美國國際開發署、終止大部分外援合約並讓大部分員工休假以來，美國立法者、發展專家和國家安全專家一直在強調削減美國對發展中國家外援的地緣政治風險。
許多議員和專家警告稱，中國多年來透過「一帶一路」倡議向非洲、亞洲和南美洲的官員提供數百億美元貸款（主要集中在基礎設施建設），以此吸引這些國家的官員，從而可能進一步進入這些國家，對發展中國家產生更大的影響力。
事實也確實如此。中國先前已宣布資助柬埔寨的掃雷計劃，該計劃曾被美國放棄，但後來又恢復。 3月中旬，北京也宣佈在盧安達開展一項兒童早期發展項目，但美國國際開發署最近削減了與盧安達的合約。據報道，中國官員已向位於印度和中國之間的尼泊爾作出填補所欠缺資金的缺口。
聯合國兒童基金會駐柬埔寨代表 Will Parks 在一份聲明中表示，該組織和柬埔寨於 2024 年與中國簽署合作夥伴關係，該協議是基於 2022 年的一項提議。 Parks 說，該協議於本月初啟動，是對其他國家資金的「補充」。
他說： “過去十年來，柬埔寨為兒童事業取得了巨大進步”; “但進一步削減援助預算可能會危及這些來之不易的成就。”
柬埔寨政府明確表示要建立聯繫。
政府發言人 Pen Bona 在回答問題時通過短信表示： “柬埔寨政府與許多合作夥伴合作，我們從不只依賴任何一個合作夥伴” ; “因此，如果一個合作夥伴撤回支持，我們就會尋求尋找另一個合作夥伴來取代它。”
中國外交部在聲明中表示，中國 “將在南南合作框架下繼續”向柬埔寨“經濟社會發展提供幫助”。
中國外交部繼續表示： “中國的援助政策是一貫的、明確的”; “中國不干涉別國內政、不附加任何政治條件、不做空頭承諾的原則沒有改變。”
據一位知情人士透露，在本月國會山莊舉行的閉門聽證會上，由特朗普任命領導對美國國際開發署攻擊的 Pete Marocco 被問及柬埔寨項目以及中國迅速宣布這一消息的時間。這位知情人士說，Marocco並不理會人們對中國影響力不斷擴大的擔憂。
Marocco沒有回應置評請求。
儘管特朗普政府成員表示取消的項目沒有為美國人帶來任何好處，但已退休的美國國際開發署非洲事務代理助理署長的 Diana Putman 表示，該機構數十億美元的對外援助幫助美國大使獲得了關鍵優勢。
Putman說： “他們在該國外交政策方面的影響力和能力是由他們帶來的資金所支持，而在全球南方，這些資金主要是美國國際開發署的資金。”
美國外交關係委員會專家 Thomas Bollyky 和 Yanzhong Huang 本週在《外交事務》上撰文指出，儘管中國可能會利用美國撤出重要市場的援助資金的機會，但北京「不會介入」填補那些面臨最大疾病風險的、戰略性較差的國家的關鍵全球衛生支出。
全球發展中心的 Kenny 表示： “我希望這事不會完全地被外交故事所掩蓋：真實地有人將因此喪命”; “這是很悲哀。”
So,
the US has canceled two aid projects in Cambodia
in late February — one to encourage child literacy and another to improve
nutrition and development for kids under five. It seems Trump does not believe
that the money given out by USAID to Cambodia is useful in making leverage and
ability to make a difference in terms of the US foreign policy. Apparently, the
US will lose its soft power gradually in many regions.
Note:
1. South-South cooperation (SSC) (南南合作)refers
to collaboration and partnership between developing countries which also known
as countries of the Global South in sharing knowledge, resources, and expertise
to achieve mutual development goals.
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