The US canceled two projects in Cambodia at the end of February – one to encourage the childhood literacy and the other to improve their nutrition and development for children under the age of five. A week later, the Chinese help agency announced the financing of the program to achieve almost identical goals.
“Children are the future of the country and nation,” said the Chinese ambassador to Cambodia Wang Weenbin at the event, standing next to the Minister of Health of Earth and Officer UNICEF. “We should take care of the healthy growth of children together.”
Although the Chinese announcement did not include the dollar number, Chinese money basically fundes the same types of initiatives and development goals as the efforts to abolish as part of the dismantling of Trump administration in USAIDs, according to two people with knowledge of US projects, which were not authorized publicly.
They both focused on “including education” and “the most vulnerable children”, according to news and procurement documents. They both provided school supplies, offering handwashing materials and improving results for “vulnerable” families and households, newborns and children with disabilities, people said.
The price for US programs – $ 40 million – was small compared to savings of $ 27.7 billion, which Trump’s administration said she saved thousands of assistance contracts this week. But for Cambodia, whose national GDP is approximately equivalent to that Vermont, it was a big sum, and the replacement of lost foreign funds was a priority.
State Department, which supervises USAID and can now absorb the agency completely, said in a statement that the US funded assistance programs that make Americans richer and safer. At the same time, it was said that the United States had “significant progress” by investing in Cambodia’s development in the last 30 years, a “close partnership” with the Government.
“Despite the changes in the American approach to foreign assistance, we hope that our relationship with Cambodia we will productively mature as we make America more secure, stronger and more prosperous,” the statement added.
The contracts terminated on February 26 after President Donald Trump and Advisor Elon Musk launched a great overhaul of American foreign assistance, which included the removal of the US International Development Agency.
Although this is just one example, it seems to confirm the fears expressed by the democratic and some Republican legislators, the advocates of helping and former US officials: reducing the side of help, Trump gives China a slight opportunity to fulfill the vacuum and get the advantage of soft forces in countries where global opponents compete for influence.
This is especially urgent in Cambodia, where they now spent about $ 1 billion from the 1990s. Washington has long led a hill with China in Southeast Asia, especially Cambodia. The Biden administration has expressed concern about the Chinese military influence in the Navy Base in the country for the last four years.
But in recent times, now they have moved to strengthen The defense is associated with the Government in Penh Penh, which made an American warship access to Ream for the first time at the end of last year.
‘Diplomatic gift’
“It’s a diplomatic gift” to China, said Charles Kenny, an older associate at the Global Development Center. “In every country where a serious USAID cut is, if they enter a small amount of money into the health and education project and say,” Look, we appear, “it seems to be a bit of a gift for them. And I’m sure they are smart enough to take it.”
Since Trump’s administration has moved to the exclusion of USAIDs, abolished most of its foreign assistance contracts, and abandonment or abandonment of most of their employees, US legislators, development experts and national security experts emphasized the geopolitical risks of reducing the American side of development in development.
Many of these legislators and experts warned that China could move in, gaining further impact on developing countries after arousing officials in Africa, Asia and South America for years with tens of billions of loans focused mainly on infrastructure through Beijing’s initiative for belts and roads.
And there must be that. China has already announced funds for the Cambodian initiative for the De-Minding, which it rejected, and later renewed them in mid-March, Beijing announced A early childhood development project in Rwanda, where USAID recently reduced contracts. And Chinese officials have allegedly Offer to compensate for disadvantages in financing in Nepal, located between India and China.
Will Parks, a representative of Cambodia for the United Nations Children’s Fund, said in a statement that the organization and Cambodia had signed a partnership with China 2024, based on a 2022 proposal. It was launched earlier this month and “supplementing” the financing of other nations, Parks said.
“Cambodia has made a huge progress for children in the past decade,” he said. “But a further reduction in the budget for help could endanger these hard -to -win achievements.”
Cambodia’s government is explicitly related to drawing a relationship.
“Cambodian government cooperates with many partners, and we never rely solely on any partner,” said Government spokesman Pen Bona via SMS in response to questions. “So if one partner withdraws support, we try to find another partner to replace him.”
China “will continue to help with economic and social development” Cambodia “as part of the South-South Cooperation,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.
“The Chinese help policy remains consistent and clear,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued. “Chinese non-interference principles, not attaching any political wires, do not remain unchanged with empty promises.”
In a closed door at Capitol Hill this month, Trump’s appointment of Pete Marocca, who led the attack on USAID, asked about Cambodia projects and the time of the Chinese announcement of Swift, to one person introduced to the session. Marocco took away the concern because China increased its impact, said that person.
Marocco did not answer the commentary request.
Although Trump’s team said that the canceled projects had brought no benefit to Americans, Diana Putman, who withdrew as an administrator of the Administrator for Africa of USAID, said billions of agencies in foreign assistance helped us give us ambassadors.
“Their influence and ability to make a difference in terms of foreign policy in that country are supported by the money they bring, and in the global south this money is primarily money that has a USAID,” Putman said.
This story is originally shown on Fortune.com
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