US to spend hundreds of millions to counter China
The Trump administration is preparing to increase funding by hundreds of millions of dollars for programmes aimed at countering China's growing global influence, after many such initiatives were halted last year amid sweeping budget and personnel cuts, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
The administration has notified Congress of plans to spend USD 175.8 million to replace ageing undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America with secure alternatives, seeking to prevent China from gaining greater influence over critical infrastructure.
The funding is part of a broader effort to revive programmes aimed at countering Chinese influence worldwide. An internal State Department document shows the administration is considering nearly half a billion dollars in additional spending on initiatives across the Western Hemisphere, Africa and Asia.
"The United States must respond to the CCP's growing economic, technological, and diplomatic leverage around the world which undermines our national interests," the document said.
Many of the proposed programmes seek to restore initiatives that were suspended after the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency carried out deep budget and personnel cuts last year. Those cuts also affected projects intended to counter China's influence.
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the administration's plans to increase funding for countering China but said many proposals were still under discussion.
The undersea cable programme, described as the "Countering CCP Control of Caribbean and Central America Undersea Cables project", will support the replacement of outdated telecommunications cables and help foreign governments work with private-sector cable installers, according to the notification sent to Congress.
Funding is expected to support projects benefiting El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Haiti, though the US would not work directly with Nicaragua's government, the document said.
The administration has also drawn up plans to spend more than USD 340 million on over 50 anti-China projects around the world, according to the State Department document.
Among the proposed initiatives are the creation of security operations centres in Argentina and Belize to monitor threats to critical infrastructure and cyber platforms. Other projects would seek to protect Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay from alleged Chinese attempts to influence port operations and exploit offshore fishing and critical mineral resources.
The proposals also include efforts to counter Chinese influence in the selection of the Dalai Lama's successor, oppose international support for China's space programme and push back against Chinese firms exporting surveillance and censorship technology.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The proposed spending comes as President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping maintain a complex relationship, with Trump expected to meet Xi in September around the annual UN General Assembly in New York.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week at a regional security conference in the Philippines as preparations for the meeting continue.
