NEWS

In recent years, China has greatly stepped up its diplomatic and commercial outreach to countries from the South Pacific and Latin America to Africa and the Middle East. In fact, in 2019, China overtook the U.S. in the number of diplomatic outposts it maintains around the globe. At the same time, Beijing’s trade and investment programs, including the Belt and Road initiative and new infrastructure and development deals, have expanded to dozens of countries.  

The contrast with the U.S. is stark. Our federal international affairs budget has been largely flat over the past decade, which is also how long it’s been since the U.S. added to the list of 20 countries where we have trade agreements in place.  

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