Comparing Global Influence: China’s and U.S.Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Trade, and Investment in theDeveloping World
Summary
This report compares the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) and U.S.projections of global influence, with an emphasis on non-coercive means or “softpower,” and suggests ways to think about U.S. foreign policy options in light of China’s emergence. Part One discusses U.S. foreign policy interests, China’s risinginfluence, and its implications for the United States. Part Two compares the globalpublic images of the two countries and describes PRC and U.S. uses of soft powertools, such as public diplomacy, state diplomacy, and foreign assistance. It alsoexamines other forms of soft power such as military diplomacy, global trade andinvestment, and sovereign wealth funds. In Part Three, the report analyzes PRC andU.S. diplomatic and economic activities in five developing regions — SoutheastAsia, Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.China and the United States use tools of soft power in different ways and withvarying effects. Since the mid-1990s, the PRC has adopted an increasingly activeand pragmatic diplomatic approach around the world that emphasizes complementaryeconomic interests. China’s influence and image have been bolstered through itsincreasingly open and sophisticated diplomatic corps as well as through prominentPRC-funded infrastructure, public works, and economic investment projects in manydeveloping countries. Meanwhile, some surveys have indicated marked declines inthe U.S. international public image since 2002. Some foreign observers havecriticized U.S. state diplomacy as being neglectful of smaller countries or of countries and regional issues that are not related to the global war on terrorism.According to some experts, U.S. diplomatic and foreign aid efforts have beenhampered by organizational restructuring, inadequate staffing levels, and foreignpolicies that remain unpopular abroad.Despite China’s growing influence, the United States retains significantstrengths, including latent reserves of soft power, much of which lie beyond thescope of government. Furthermore, by some indicators, China’s soft power hasexperienced some recent setbacks, while the U.S. image abroad has shown signs of a possible renewal. The United States exceeds the People’s Republic of China (PRC)in global trade, although the PRC is catching up, and far surpasses China in GDP andforeign direct investment. It continues to be the dominant external political andmilitary actor in the Middle East and political and economic influence in LatinAmerica. The United States maintains formal alliances in Europe and Asia, and faroutweighs the PRC in military spending and capabilities.The 110
th
Congress has held hearings and proposed measures that support U.S.public diplomacy, diplomatic efforts, and foreign aid. Relevant legislation includesthe
Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007
(P.L. 110-153) and the
Public Diplomacy Resource Centers Act of 2007
(H.R. 2553).This report will not be updated.
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