A while ago I asked in these pages why China’s authorities were not better at setting out a positive case for the contributions they had helped make to other countries around the world – because they are in fact legion, but detractors who want to accuse Beijing of practicing debt-trap diplomacy, for instance, will never mention them.
It may seem counter-intuitive, or even perverse, in the age of US President Donald Trump, but why is America not better at promoting itself abroad? This is something that needs to be raised in an era which is characterised not just by actual contestation with China, but by a culture on the hawkish right that borders on encouraging conflict or that suggests, in a possibly dangerously self-fulfilling way, that it is inevitable.
Everything is seen through the lens of competition. Take a report by Australia’s Lowy Institute last November which stated that China now had more missions, consulates and other representative offices around the world than the US. That prompted the headline in one publication: “The US is losing its crown to China as the world’s biggest diplomatic power”. Given that foreign service heft is measured not solely by the numbers of diplomats or embassies, that conclusion is debatable. What is not, however, is that China is getting a much better return on the money it spends abroad than the US.
Until Mr Trump announced he would stop funding for the World Health Organisation (WHO), the US had been the largest annual contributor, in the hundreds of millions per year. China contributes around a tenth of the American total. But when President Xi Jinping pledged an additional $30 million to the WHO a week after Mr Trump’s intervention he garnered plenty of favourable media coverage, for what was a minuscule amount by comparison.
As the Atlantic magazine put it recently: for years, US officials have been "worried that China kept somehow buying more influence, with less money, around the world." In the UN system in general, writes the French academic and analyst Francois Godement, while the US provides far more financial support than China, it appears that "the US talks loudly but carries a small stick" whereas "China now speaks softly but carries a big stick."
The UN has its own special dynamics; China’s ability to cast itself still as a fellow developing country and to “say no” at the Security Council as Mr Godement rightly points out, constitutes a power unquantifiable in monetary terms. But the broader point remains.
The lack of wider knowledge about what America's presence means struck me forcefully when looking at the US State Department's document on "A Free and Open Indo-Pacific" that I mentioned last week. Let some of the figures sink in: "In 2018, we conducted over $1.9 trillion in two-way trade with the region, supporting more than three million jobs in the US and 5.1 million jobs in the Indo-Pacific. All five of our non-Nato bilateral defence alliances are in the Indo-Pacific. We are also the largest donor of foreign assistance in the region, contributing $2tn in constant dollars since the end of the Second World War."
There is much, much more. But rarely are these sums spelt out so specifically. As one Malaysian analyst put it to me: “The Americans, including the private sector, have been here in Asia for ages. But they seem unable to harness that narrative and sell it like China does.”
Could Mr Trump perhaps have a point when he berates the rest of the world for being ungrateful to America? Have we all got used to taking US largesse for granted?
Now of course there are all sorts of reasons why some people or countries are not so fond of Uncle Sam. An overly interventionist foreign policy backed by a self-awarded exceptionalism that has allowed president after president to act extra-judicially or order disastrous invasions. There is a reflex anti-Americanism on much of the left; not just among those who granted too much benefit of the doubt to Communist regimes during the Cold War, but also those who dislike the inequalities resulting from the unbridled capitalism Washington champions.
Many would argue that lots of US spending overseas is not altruistic but is about upholding its “leader of the world” status. That is at least partly true; USAID, the agency which administers around half of American assistance abroad, is explicit that it is an instrument of US foreign policy.
But the figures speak for themselves – that is, when they are actually mentioned. Where would Nato have been without the US’s overwhelming defence spending? How would Europe have coped without the multibillion US Marshall Plan that helped the continent recover after the devastation of the Second World War?
What would happen to the security of Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea if the US didn't conduct freedom of navigation operations? It is virtually risk-free for regional politicians to use anti-colonial rhetoric to win votes, but they would be terrified if US forces departed for good. And that $2tn in foreign assistance to the Indo-Pacific bears repeating.
Yes, US funds and support often come with a price tag. American officials have a long and tiresome habit of wagging their fingers at developing countries that dare to have different cultural, legal and political systems. But fears or resentments about US imperial overreach should not obscure all the good America has done in the real business of nation-building: in education, training, skills transference, infrastructure and investment.
This is no paean to America. Nor do many countries want to be placed in the invidious position of having to choose between the US and China. But perhaps when measuring up the assistance Beijing and Washington are offering, it is worth remembering that the answer to the question “just what did the Americans do for us?” is “actually, rather a lot.”
Sholto Byrnes is a commentator and consultant in Kuala Lumpur and a corresponding fellow of the Erasmus Forum
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Scoreline
Australia 2-1 Thailand
Australia: Juric 69', Leckie 86'
Thailand: Pokklaw 82'
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Teaching in coronavirus times
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: SimpliFi
Started: August 2021
Founder: Ali Sattar
Based: UAE
Industry: Finance, technology
Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
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Match info:
Portugal 1
Ronaldo (4')
Morocco 0
The biogs
Name: Zinah Madi
Occupation: Co-founder of Dots and links
Nationality: Syrian
Family: Married, Mother of Tala, 18, Sharif, 14, Kareem, 2
Favourite Quote: “There is only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything.”
Name: Razan Nabulsi
Occupation: Co-founder of Dots and Links
Nationality: Jordanian
Family: Married, Mother of Yahya, 3.5
Favourite Quote: A Chinese proverb that says: “Be not afraid of moving slowly, be afraid only of standing still.”
The biog
Profession: Senior sports presenter and producer
Marital status: Single
Favourite book: Al Nabi by Jibran Khalil Jibran
Favourite food: Italian and Lebanese food
Favourite football player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Languages: Arabic, French, English, Portuguese and some Spanish
Website: www.liliane-tannoury.com
Liverpool's all-time goalscorers
Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh135,000
Engine 1.6L turbo
Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode
Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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More on Yemen's civil war
