Hundreds of Millions Earmarked as US Restarts Global Push Against China
Rinchen Tashi 
Credit: The Associated Press
The Trump administration is preparing to increase funding by hundreds of millions of dollars for programmes aimed at limiting China’s expanding global influence. This comes after many similar initiatives were paused last year due to budget cuts and staff reductions against China.
Late last week, the administration informed Congress that it intends to spend $175.8 million to replace old undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America. The goal is to prevent China from gaining control over critical communication infrastructure in the region. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the notification.
US officials have repeatedly expressed concern about Chinese activities in the Americas. These include Chinese ownership of ports near the Panama Canal, infrastructure projects linked to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and growing Chinese investment in telecommunications.
A State Department official said China’s economic projects in the Western Hemisphere create risks for US national security and prosperity. While Chinese offers often appear cheaper at first, they can become more expensive later due to cost overruns, hidden maintenance fees and poor performance.
The undersea cable project is part of a wider effort. An internal State Department document shows the administration is considering nearly half a billion dollars more for programmes targeting Chinese influence across the Western Hemisphere, Africa and Asia. The document states that the United States must respond to the Chinese Communist Party’s growing economic, technological and diplomatic leverage around the world.
Many of these programmes aim to restore earlier US investments that were stopped during deep budget cuts last year. Those cuts, carried out under the Department of Government Efficiency, dismantled parts of the US Agency for International Development and eliminated hundreds of diplomatic posts. Several previously approved projects designed to counter China were also halted.
A senior US official confirmed the intention to increase funding against Chinese influence but said many details remain under discussion.
The specific cable project is called the “Countering CCP Control of Caribbean and Central America Undersea Cables project.” It will support the installation of secure undersea cables using US and trusted partners. Funding is expected to benefit projects in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Haiti. The US will not work directly with the Nicaraguan government due to strained relations.
Beyond cables, the administration has drawn up plans to spend more than $340 million on over 50 other anti-China projects. These include setting up security operations centres in Argentina and Belize to monitor threats to critical infrastructure. Other efforts aim to protect countries such as Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay from alleged Chinese attempts to control ports, fishing grounds and critical minerals.
Additional proposals include countering Chinese influence over the selection of a future Dalai Lama through secure communications technology, challenging international support for China’s space programme, and resisting the export of Chinese surveillance and censorship systems.
China’s embassy in Washington has not yet commented on the plans.
The renewed focus on countering China comes even as President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have shown public signs of cooperation, with Xi expected to visit the United States later this year. The administration appears determined to rebuild tools of influence that were reduced last year, particularly in regions close to the United States.
This shift reflects a continuing view in Washington that China’s global economic and technological reach requires a stronger and more coordinated American response.
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Karma Ngawang 
Jun Hao 
