The Ceding of Soft Power US Aid Freeze Empowers China This title effectively conveys the main idea of the blog post, which is that the US decision to freeze foreign aid has created a power vacuum that China is quick to fill, resulting in China gaining an advantage in terms of soft power. The use of ceding and empowers suggests that the US is losing ground and giving China an opportunity to gain influence.

The Ceding of Soft Power US Aid Freeze Empowers China

In an unprecedented move, President Donald Trump's decision to freeze nearly all US foreign aid has created a power vacuum that China has been quick to fill. This sudden shift has significant implications for small but strategic countries like Cambodia and the Cook Islands, which are now turning to Beijing for support.

The Loss of Soft Power A Crucial Lever of Influence

Successive US administrations have recognized the importance of waging a global competition with China, described as the only potential rival for global leadership. However, by gutting aid, the United States has effectively ceded one of its main levers of influence – soft power. Soft power refers to the ability of a country to persuade others through its attractiveness. The United States has long been the top donor in the world, giving $64 billion in 2023. But with Trump's freeze, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is now on leave, marking the end of decades-old efforts to exercise soft power.

China's Rise as a Dominant Player A Shift in Global Development Assistance

Michael Schiffer, who served as USAID's assistant administrator for Asia under former president Joe Biden, warns that China could become the dominant player in the developing world in areas from public health to policing. We'll be sitting on the sidelines and then in a couple of years we'll have a conversation about how we're shocked that the PRC has positioned itself as the partner of choice in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, he said.

China's Aid More Opaque Than Transparent

Unlike Western nations, China's aid is more opaque. According to AidData, a research group at the College of William and Mary, China has provided $1.34 trillion over two decades – mostly in the form of loans rather than grants. While this may not be a huge increase in aid dollars, it is still significant.

The Consequences A Loss of Reliability

The United States will struggle to counter perceptions that it is no longer reliable. As Samantha Custer, director of policy analysis at AidData, notes, China can win the day by not even doing anything. You can't partner with somebody who's not there.

Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, agrees. China is more interested in construction and benefiting its domestic industries, like building a hospital rather than training doctors.

A New Era of Soft Power Polarization and Divergence

Hendrik W. Ohnesorge, a scholar of soft power, notes that Trump's aid freeze represents a new, post-liberal sort of soft power in a polarized world. He argues that other leaders have styled themselves after Trump and gladly followed his lead.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The gutting of aid by the United States has created a power vacuum that China is quick to fill. As the United States continues to wield its hard power, it will struggle to counter perceptions that it is no longer reliable. The future of global development assistance hangs in the balance.

To address these challenges, we recommend

1. The US government should review and revise its aid policy to prioritize transparency, accountability, and effectiveness.
2. Western countries should work together to mobilize international aid to priorities around the world.
3. China should be encouraged to increase its grant-based aid and provide more transparent information on its development assistance.

By working together and adapting to a changing global landscape, we can overcome the challenges of gutting aid and ensure that the United States remains a major player in global development assistance.

Edward Lance Arellano Lorilla

CEO / Co-Founder

Enjoy the little things in life. For one day, you may look back and realize they were the big things. Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.