Report: Manipulation of aid brings profound disasters

The United States is manipulating its foreign aid to seek hegemony and engage in geopolitical games which brings profound disasters to the world, a Chinese think tank said in a report, warning that such acts will ultimately backfire and thus urging Washington to change course.

US foreign aid is selfish, arrogant and hypocritical, disregarding genuine interests and long-term development of many recipient developing countries, according to a report issued by the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Essentially, the report said US aid serves as a tool to maintain US hegemony by greedily exploiting developing countries.

US aid has served as a fig leaf for its military hegemony. Washington not only profits from humanitarian crises through warfare, but also continually exacerbates humanitarian crises through its aid.

"American-style aid" has prolonged the crisis in Ukraine. According to the report, as of January 2023, the total amount of aid promised by the US to Ukraine reached $76.8 billion, with military aid comprising the largest portion at $46.5 billion, accounting for 61 percent.

In addition, the US uses aid as a geopolitical tool to maliciously suppress the influence of other countries and enhance its leadership.

The "Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Justification for Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs" said Washington's foreign aid is a key tool in strategic competition, with the Department of State and the US Agency for International Development using the "Countering Chinese Influence Fund" and the "Countering Russian Influence Fund" to support various plans, the report said.

While repeatedly touting its "contributions" as the world's largest aid donor, the US always offers empty promises and has never fully fulfilled its international responsibilities, the report said.

At the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, the US and other developed countries pledged to provide at least $100 billion annually to developing countries for climate aid before 2020. However, this commitment has yet to be fulfilled, and the deadline for the funds to be in place had been postponed to last year.

US think tank Center for Global Development annually publishes the Commitment to Development Index report, which evaluates the aid provided by the world's wealthiest nations to poorer countries. The US consistently ranks at the bottom in the reports over the years.

The report also rebuked the US for offering assistance in a patronizing and self-righteous manner. "American-style aid" often comes with harsh conditions that undermine the sovereignty and dignity of the recipient country, blatantly interfering in the internal affairs of others, the report said.

It said Washington uses aid as a bargaining chip to compel developing countries to comply with its demands, leading to a severe lack of coherence in US aid policies and undermining the sustainable development of recipient countries.

Moreover, the US has long sought to infiltrate recipient countries in various ways and forcefully promote US values and the "democratic model". However, the hasty withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2021 after a 20-year invasion marked the complete failure of its "democratic transformation plan".

The report urged Washington with myriad problems in its own foreign aid efforts not to sling mud at Beijing. China neither meddles in other countries' internal affairs, nor imposes its will on others, and never attaches any political conditions to its foreign aid, the report said.

zhaojia@chinadaily.com.cn