Amid the growing U.S.-China rivalry, foreign aid has become a venue for global competition. U.S. President Joe Biden and other G-7 leaders recently launched the Build Back Better World initiative to rally like-minded democracies to help close the infrastructure gap in low- and middle-income countries. Build Back Better World intends to counter China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative, which Chinese President Xi Jinping recently said would build a “new type of international relations” marked by mutual benefit and high-quality development instead of “zero-sum games.”
These statements speak volumes about how the United States, its allies, and China deploy foreign aid to advance national interests and win friends abroad. But how do these overtures translate into influence and partnership with foreign leaders and publics?
