Trump’s overhaul of State Department may play into Beijing’s hands for decades

During nearly three decades as a US diplomat in China, Southeast Asia and Africa, Matt Ingeneri watched his Chinese counterparts dispense prestigious scholarships, hold lavish banquets and conduct expensive national day celebrations.

“They are very good hosts and can be really charming when they want to be,” Ingeneri, now in the private sector, said, adding that the US State Department budgets were far smaller and corruption concerns greater. “We had a hot dog on a Ritz cracker.”

But Chinese officials also mixed their soft power with unbending deportment when espousing Beijing’s red lines, he added.

“It’s all fun and games – until you want to keep your claim to the South China Sea.”

The US effort to counter China’s growing global footprint is difficult enough. President Donald Trump’s radical State Department overhaul is not making it any easier and could play into Beijing’s hands for decades, according to lawmakers and past and current department officials.

“Our competition with China requires all hands on deck. It’s global in nature. It affects virtually every issue, every topic that crosses borders,” said Mark Lambert, a 35-year State Department veteran and former head of its China House overseeing Beijing-focused diplomacy.

“We just gutted [development programmes] ourselves, a huge win for China.”