US plans hundreds of millions more in anti-China spending worldwide

The administration informed Congress late last week that it plans to spend $175.8 million to replace outdated undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America to prevent China from gaining influence in the sector, according to a copy of the notification obtained by The Associated Press on Monday.

The administration has expressed growing concern over China's activities in the Americas, including Chinese ownership of ports at both ends of the Panama Canal, infrastructure projects financed under China's Belt and Road Initiative and Chinese investments in telecommunications.

A State Department official said China's economic activities in the Western Hemisphere pose risks to US national security and prosperity. The official, who was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Chinese offerings may initially appear cheaper but ultimately become more costly because of cost overruns, hidden maintenance fees and poor performance.

The funding for undersea cables appears to be part of a broader effort to revive programmes aimed at limiting Chinese influence worldwide, which could cost many hundreds of millions of dollars more.

The move comes even as President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have sought to project cooperation, with Xi expected to visit the United States this fall.

The State Department is considering nearly half a billion dollars in additional spending on programmes targeting Chinese influence across the Western Hemisphere, Africa and Asia, according to an internal State Department document obtained by AP.

“The United States must respond to the CCP's growing economic, technological, and diplomatic leverage around the world which undermines our national interests,” the document says, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

Many of the proposed programmes are intended to “reclaim diplomatic leverage” through investments in areas where the US had previously funded projects but stopped them as the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, carried out major budget and personnel cuts last year.

Those cuts dismantled the US Agency for International Development and eliminated several hundred diplomatic posts around the world. They also affected previously approved projects, including some designed to counter China's influence.

A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity about future administration plans, confirmed that the Trump administration wants to increase spending to counter China but declined to provide specific details.

The official acknowledged that large-scale projects were being discussed, but said many remained under consideration.

The programme outlined to Congress on Friday is called the “Countering CCP Control of Caribbean and Central America Undersea Cables project.”

It will fund the installation of strategically selected undersea cable infrastructure and support foreign governments in working with private-sector cable installers, according to the notification.

The funding will support the replacement of outdated undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America with secure alternatives from US and trusted partners, the document said.

Even as the administration continues its war with Iran and peace efforts in Gaza and Lebanon, it has placed a strong focus on the Western Hemisphere.

The administration captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, increased pressure on Cuba's socialist government and imposed severe sanctions on Nicaragua.

Under the new programme, funding is expected to support undersea cable projects benefiting El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Haiti, the document said.

The US has strained relations with Nicaragua and would not work directly with its government on the programme.

China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, the administration has drawn up plans to spend more than $340 million on over 50 specific projects aimed at countering China around the world, including many in the Western Hemisphere, according to the internal State Department document.

The administration told Congress in May that it had spent several hundred million dollars from the 2024 budget approved by the Biden administration on efforts to counter China.

However, many other projects funded for 2024 and 2025 had been put on hold.

Among the programmes proposed for revival are plans to establish security operations centres in Argentina and Belize to monitor Chinese threats to critical infrastructure and cyber platforms in the region.

Other initiatives would seek to protect Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay from alleged Chinese efforts to infiltrate port operations and illegally exploit offshore fishing and critical mineral resources.

More broadly, the proposal, which is still under consideration, would seek to counter Chinese influence in the selection of a successor to the Dalai Lama by developing proprietary technology for secure communications and information gathering.

It would also seek to reduce international support for China's space programme and counter Chinese companies seeking to export surveillance and censorship technologies.

The document did not provide details of the proposed initiatives.

Trump is expected to meet Xi in September around the time of the annual UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders in New York.

Ahead of the meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week at a regional security conference in the Philippines.

Trump has alternated between anger and enthusiasm toward Xi, whom the US president has sought to cultivate as an ally even as China pursues policies that conflict with many of his administration's objectives.

The ultimate impact of the proposed programmes may not be clear for months or even years, reports UNB.