The United States is losing strategic ground to China due to US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the global stage and transactional approach to foreign policy, a Democrat-authored report has warned.Surveying Trump’s first six months in office, the report warns that his tenure has “significantly undermined” Washington’s ability to compete with China.
The report highlights staff reductions at the US Department of State and the “chaotic gutting” of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Agency for Global Media – which oversees Voice of America and Radio Free Asia – as moves that have weakened US power and influence.
The report, released on Monday by Democratic members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, describes China as a “strategic challenge distinct from any in our nation’s history” with a “long-term strategy to unseat the United States as the world’s leading superpower”.
“While President Trump retreats from every corner of the world – attacking allies, slashing America’s diplomatic tools and embracing adversaries – China is building influence, expanding relationships and reshaping the global order to its advantage,” US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said in a statement.
According to the report, China has moved to fill the void created by Trump’s withdrawal from global initiatives such as the World Health O …