China expands its diplomatic muscle as the Trump administration cuts 3,000 State Department jobs and billions in foreign aid –

The latest news on USA and China: If there is to be talk of a change in the global geopolitical landscape, this is perhaps one of the most notable. Last Friday President Donald Trump’s administration made good on its promise and slashed billions of dollars in foreign aid and humanitarian assistance, cutting more than 1,500 positions at the State Department, which already has a cumulative reduction by 2025 of more than 3,000 workers.

One of the most immediate symptoms has been the virtual disappearance of USAID, the US Agency for International Development. This agency was responsible for managing humanitarian aid in developing countries and providing support in international emergencies. And this will have a direct impact: as reported by Reuters and the medical journal The Lancet, it is estimated that without this aid, more than 14 million people will die from lack of assistance by 2030.

As the US withdraws, a new player enters the scene. China has increased its international presence significantly, both by supporting infrastructure and by sending food aid to areas in need. Among others, Xi Jinping’s government is currently involved in the construction of railway lines in Vietnam, rice shipments to Uganda and Latin American infrastructure development. This data comes from a 91-page report by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“Within days of the Trump administration taking office and beginning to reverse our commitments around the world, China was already labelling the United States as an unreliable partner,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the committee’s top Democrat, told reporters on a conference call about the report.

China’s international presence as a new global development player is evidenced by the takeover of its HIV project in Zambia, infrastructure development in Malaysia and the sale of two million dollars worth of rice to Uganda.

“At a time when we are retreating, they are expanding their presence,” says the committee’s report.