US looks to boost anti-China spending worldwide by hundreds of millions, documents say
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- State Department notified Congress of $175.8 million to replace undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America, targeting infrastructure in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, and Nicaragua—where the U.S. will not work with the Nicaraguan government.
- Internal State Department documents obtained by AP outline plans for nearly $500 million in additional anti-China programs across the Western Hemisphere, Africa, and Asia, with over 50 specific projects estimated at more than $340 million.
- DOGE-led cuts last year dismantled USAID and eliminated several hundred diplomatic posts, halting previously approved counter-China initiatives including planned security operations centers in Argentina and Belize.
- New proposals include protecting Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay from Chinese infiltration of port operations and offshore fishing, plus developing proprietary technology to counter Chinese influence in selecting a Dalai Lama successor.
- Trump is expected to meet with Xi Jinping in September around the UN General Assembly; Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week at a regional security conference in the Philippines.
- A State Department official warned that China's economic activities in the Western Hemisphere risk U.S. national security, citing cost overruns, hidden maintenance fees, and poor performance behind cheaper Chinese infrastructure offerings.
Why it matters: The reversal of DOGE-era cuts reveals where the administration's counter-China priorities actually sit: ports, undersea cables, and critical minerals across countries where Beijing has invested heavily through Belt and Road. The nearly $500 million push targets telecommunications and supply chains even as Trump simultaneously courts Xi ahead of a September meeting, exposing a split between his diplomatic posture and his administration's ground-level infrastructure competition.
