Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs The Trump administration’s recent efforts to dismantle USAID, the world’s largest government foreign assistance provider, has created a void that China will be happy to fill, analysts say.Newsweek reached out to the U.S. State Department and Chinese embassy with emailed requests for comment.Why It MattersShortly after taking office last month, Trump signed an executive order initiating a 90-day pause on foreign aid, exempting only emergency food assistance and military aid to Israel and Egypt. The United States is the world’s largest humanitarian aid provider, accounting for over 40 percent of global assistance last year, according to the United Nations. About two-thirds of this aid came from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).The administration is now working to merge USAID into the State Department, cutting its workforce from around 10,000 to fewer than 300. The effort, led by the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has drawn criticism from aid organizations and lawmakers, who warn that freezing these programs could endanger lives and expand China’s influence.What to KnowChina is already stepping in with aid to its close ally Cambodia, a country still plagued by landmines from the Khmer Rouge’s genocidal rule in the mid-to-late 1970s and subsequent Vietnamese invasion and civil war.Shortly after the USAID freeze, the Cambodian Mine Action Centre announced a $4.4 million grant from China to fund landmine clearance across seven provinces for a year.Meanwhile, in Nepal, a senior person in the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal said Chinese officials had reassured them Beijing is “willing to assist if Nepal faces challenges in humanitarian aid, health, and education,” the English-language Nepali news agency Annapurna Express reported last week.
A pile of building letters after a worker removed the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on its headquarters on February 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
A pile of building letters after a worker removed the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on its headquarters on February 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Getty Images
China has criticized U.S. foreign aid as self-serving, accusing Washington of prioritizing its own interests.”Being selfish, arrogant, hypocritical, and ugly, and wantonly interfering in other countries’ internal affairs for its own benefits, U.S. foreign aid brings about seriously negative impacts on world peace,” read an April 2024 report by the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC), a Ministry of Commerce-affiliated research institution that advises Beijing.CAITEC noted that former President Joe Biden, for the first time in USAID history, appointed Administrator Samantha Power as a permanent member of the White House National Security Council.This revealed “the importance of aid in pursuing the U.S. national security strategy,” the academy argued. “At present, the U.S. not only unabashedly proclaims its self-serving intention to provide foreign aid but also pushes aid to the main battlefield of great power games.”What People Are SayingElon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said on February 3 during a live session on X Spaces: “It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm it in. What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair.”A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told Newsweek: “We are reviewing all foreign assistance funds to ensure they are aligned with American interests […] National security is and will remain a top priority. The review period is a measure put in place for us to align our ongoing work with the America First agenda. The results of the in-depth review will be communicated transparently.”J. Brian Atwood, USAID director during the Clinton administration, told Newsweek: “China has been criticizing USAID programs for the last few years […] Their goal was to undermine support for USAID in the U.S. and around the world. They will be delighted that the Trump administration wants to dismantle the agency and will move in quickly to replace the U.S. in many countries. This is a serious self-inflicted wound for the United States.”Roger Wicker, a Republican senator from Mississippi, told reporters last week: “I have felt for a long time that USAID is, is our way to combat the Belt and Road Initiative, which is China’s effort to really gain influence around the world, including Africa and South America in the Western Hemisphere.”Francisco Bencosme, USAID China policy lead during the Biden administration, was quoted in Politico: “China is already reaching out to partners. They will fill in the void in places like Cambodia and Nepal, and those are just the places we know about.”What’s NextIt remains to be seen how USAID will be integrated into the State Department and what will become of the thousands of staff members who have been put on administrative leave.
