As the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) struggle in a trade war, Xi Jinping has sent a consistent message to nations caught between Washington and Beijing: You’ll get a better deal with China if you walk away from America. This geopolitical angling is part of a broader return to great-power competition. But the maneuvering didn’t begin with tariffs. Even before President Donald Trump’s latest actions, Beijing was quietly approaching third-party nations with a simple pitch: You can’t trust America. Work with us instead.
The issue at hand was foreign assistance. One of President Trump’s first moves in his second administration was to restructure U.S. foreign aid. He had good reason. From transgender operas and comic books to DEI musicals, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) had lost its strategic compass. These programs didn’t advance American interests, and some actively undermined them.
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