China swoops in to replace Asian USAID projects axed by Trump

THE US canceled two aid projects in Cambodia in late February — one to encourage child literacy and another to improve nutrition and development for kids under five. A week later, China’s aid agency announced funding for programs to achieve almost identical goals.

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“Children are the future of the country and the nation,” China’s ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentin said at the event, standing next to the country’s health minister and a UNICEF official. “We should care for the healthy growth of children together.”

Wang Wentin is also a director of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), a government agency announced in 2018 as China’s official aid agency. The agency’s stated mission is to help developing countries reduce poverty and achieve the UN’s sustainable development goals for 2030. They have provided cash, food, and infrastructure to countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

While China’s announcement didn’t include a dollar figure, the Chinese money essentially funds the same types of initiatives and development goals as efforts terminated as part of the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID, according to two people with knowledge of the US projects, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly.