Trump's Freeze on Foreign Aid Could Give China Opening on World Stage

Experts and lawmakers disagree on the impact of the US taking a step back from foreign aid

- ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Donald Trump's restrictions on foreign aid and targeting of a key agency funding programs around the world may be offering an opening to America's biggest adversary—China.

From the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development to quitting international groups, Trump's drastic "America First" moves have raised concerns among some lawmakers and experts about whether the U.S. is ceding global influence to its rivals, especially at a time when Washington is fretting over Beijing's growing clout at the cost to American interests.

Foreign assistance offered the U.S. a source of "soft power"—allowing it to cultivate goodwill, build alliances and counter adversaries in a bid to shore up national security without having to dispatch troops, weapons or other more coercive measures.