China Swoops In to Replace Asian USAID Projects Axed by Trump

Source: Bloomberg (no PW for MSN-hosted article)

The US canceled two aid projects in Cambodia in late February -- one to encourage child literacy and another to improve nutrition and development for kids under five. A week later, China's aid agency announced funding for programs to achieve almost identical goals.

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The contracts were terminated on Feb. 26 after President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk launched a sweeping overhaul of US foreign assistance, which included dismantling the US Agency for International Development.

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. . .China already announced funding for a Cambodian de-mining initiative that was dropped, and later restored, by the US. In mid-March, Beijing also announced an early childhood development project in Rwanda, where USAID recently curtailed contracts. And Chinese officials have reportedly offered to make up for funding gaps in Nepal, nestled between India and China.

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In a closed-door hearing on Capitol Hill this month, Trump appointee Pete Marocco, who led the assault on USAID, was asked about the Cambodia projects and the timing of China's swift announcement, according to one person familiar with the session. Marocco brushed off concerns about China increasing its influence, this person said.



Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/china-swoops-in-to-replace-asian-usaid-projects-axed-by-trump/ar-AA1BEOMt

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The two projects in the first paragraph focused on "inclusive education" ... improving outcomes for "vulnerable" families and households, newborns and children with disabilities ... according to two people with knowledge of the US projects,

No wonder the Trump admin terminated these -- "inclusive", wow!, that's the 3rd word of the much-hated woke "DEI" acronym. And focusing on vulnerable families and disabilities -- so discriminatory! That's discrimination against the invulnerable and the abled, in the MAGA worldview.