【By Observer Net, Xiong Chaoran】On July 14 local time, Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations released a 91-page report stating that while the Trump administration was cutting back on America's international influence, China was expanding its diplomatic influence.

"Within days of the Trump administration taking office and beginning to withdraw our commitments around the world, China had already labeled the United States as an unreliable partner," said the chairman of the committee, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, during a telephone briefing on the report, telling reporters: "While we are retreating, they are expanding their influence."

In this report, Democrats listed various ways that the committee's researchers believe China is expanding its influence, from media broadcasts to medical projects, and development assistance. The report also lists dozens of cases claiming that when the U.S. cancels or cuts international projects, China steps in, such as in vaccine funding, food supply, and infrastructure development.

Jeanne Shaheen, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, photo

The report states that when the U.S. terminated its food aid program in Africa, China donated $2 million worth of rice to Uganda in March this year. In May, after the U.S. ended its $37 million HIV-related aid to Zambia, China pledged to help the African nation combat AIDS, including donating 500,000 rapid HIV test kits, and planning more meetings to discuss maintaining a partnership on this issue.

In Southeast Asia, China has engaged with leaders of countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia, leading to the resumption of cross-border passenger train services between China and Vietnam, 37 cooperation agreements in areas such as energy, education, and infrastructure in Cambodia, and technology and manufacturing exchanges in Malaysia.

In Latin America, China successfully hosted the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the China-Latin America and Caribbean Countries Community Forum ("China-LAC Forum") in May this year, and announced a $9 billion credit line and additional infrastructure investment for the region.

The report says that this document is the result of several months of travel and research by U.S. staff. The release of the report comes as the Trump administration is making significant cuts to the U.S. Department of State, including firing over 1,350 domestic employees starting from July 11 local time, which is part of a plan to cut nearly 3,000 domestic employees.

Additionally, the Trump administration has cut billions of dollars in foreign aid, effectively closing the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which funds most of the U.S. humanitarian and development aid globally, resulting in thousands of employees and contractors being laid off, and over 80% of its projects being cut.

Critics point out that these cuts will weaken America's ability to defend and promote its overseas interests. Recently, a study published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet showed that the Trump administration's policy of cutting and dissolving USAID could lead to over 14 million additional deaths by 2030.

The Trump administration claims that these reform measures help align foreign policy with the "America First" agenda, which is part of efforts to reduce federal bureaucracy and cut what Trump calls "wasteful spending." Trump has stated that the U.S. pays too much for foreign aid and hopes other countries will take on more responsibility.

According to reports by the National Public Radio (NPR) and Reuters, on the 20th of last month, at a hearing in the U.S. Senate, Secretary of State Rubio debated with Democratic lawmakers over the State Department's reforms and budget cuts.

Regarding global aid issues, Rubio insisted that the major cuts to USAID do not mean that the U.S. will step away from the global stage of foreign aid, and denied the claim that "China may replace the U.S. as the leader in global aid."

Rubio said, "There is no evidence that China has the capacity or willingness to replace the U.S. in the fields of humanitarian aid, food delivery, or development aid." He claimed that even with the relevant reforms in the State Department, the U.S. provides foreign aid and humanitarian support that "far exceeds China."

He further emphasized that the U.S. has not withdrawn from international affairs, saying, "I visited 18 countries in 18 weeks, which doesn't sound like withdrawal... I met with many foreign ministers, including the foreign minister of Ukraine, more times than I saw my own children."

Following that, Rubio repeated his old tactics, smearing the "Belt and Road Initiative" launched by China, spreading false narratives about "predatory loans" and "debt crises." He even lied by claiming that China "has no record of humanitarian aid around the world," and even falsely said that China "doesn't know how to do it."

Notably, USAID has long been criticized internationally for using foreign aid as a pretext for interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. If what Rubio refers to as "foreign aid" is such malicious acts, China has never done so. Previously, China has repeatedly demonstrated through actions that its regional investments and cooperation do not target any third party, nor do they have intentions of confrontation or replacement of other countries, which has always been the basic principle of China's international cooperation.

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