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China rises in Southeast Asia as Western donors pull back
The Freeman
|July 22, 2025
China is set to expand its influence over Southeast Asia's development as the Trump administration and other Western donors slash aid, a study by an Australian think tank said Sunday.
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The region is in an “uncertain moment", facing cuts in official development finance from the West as well as "especially punitive" US trade tariffs, the Sydney-based Lowy Institute said.
"Declining Western aid risks ceding a greater role to China, though other Asian donors will also gain in importance," it said.
Total official development finance to Southeast Asia -- including grants, low-rate loans and other loans -- grew "modestly" to US$29 billion in 2023, the annual report said.
But US President Donald Trump has since halted about US$60 billion in development assistance -- most of the United States’ overseas aid program.
Seven European countries -- including France and Germany -- and the European Union have announced US$17.2 billion in aid cuts to be implemented between 2025 and 2029, it said.
This story is from the July 22, 2025 edition of The Freeman.
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