Massive U.S. anti-China funding leaves behind 'chaotic ledger'

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report examining U.S. government expenditure on programs targeting China.

From fiscal years 2020 to 2023, Congress directed the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to spend nearly $1.2 billion on 470 projects targeting China worldwide, the report found.

Cartoon by Tan Xiguang

According to the report, these projects targeted several areas, including what the U.S. government described as China's efforts to reshape the United Nations, its economic practices, overseas development activities, nuclear energy efforts, military sales and exports, and development of military technology.

The report also found that these projects suffered from widespread problems such as poor management and missing data. Where much of the money went remains unclear.

With $1.2 billion spent on 470 projects, what was left behind was a "chaotic ledger" that even the U.S. government itself could not fully make sense of.