Biden administration seeks more Indo-Pacific funding to counter China
U.S. President Biden walks at Philadelphia Airport to depart after his visit, Philadelphia.
The Biden administration budget plan puts forward on Thursday requests for billions of dollars of funding for the Indo-Pacific region, aimed at countering China through infrastructure investments and other support for U.S. partners and allies in the region.
John Bass, acting Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, told reporters Washington's competition with Beijing was unusually broad and complex and justified new forms of funding.
Our approach towards the generational challenge posed by the PRC focuses on investing in our own domestic capabilities, aligning our efforts with those of allies and partners and competing with the PRC where interests and values differ, Bass said, referring to the People's Republic of China.
Biden's budget proposal is facing stiff opposition from Republican lawmakers, although party leaders generally support efforts to counter China.
The budget proposal for 2024 includes $400 million for a fund to counter specific PRC behaviors globally, according to a State Department fact sheet.
The administration wants to provide mandatory spending in addition to traditional discretionary funding, including $2 billion to support infrastructure projects and $2 billion to strengthen Indo-Pacific economies and support partners to push back against China, Bass said.
He said that the budget also includes funding to expand the U.S. presence in the Pacific Islands, a region where Washington is competing with growing Chinese influence.
The amount of funding is likely to be small in comparison to China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, but officials say that the U.S. efforts are focused on high-quality infrastructure projects and will spur private sector investment.
We are not looking to match the dollar for dollar because of any number of Chinese investments. Bass said that they don't make a lot of commercial sense.