New development fund a ‘small step’ toward countering China, says think tank

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will today launch a revamped British development finance institution that will invest billions in infrastructure and technology in low and middle income countries across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.

In light of the news, Sam Armstrong, director of communications at trans-Atlantic foreign policy and national security think tank the Henry Jackson Society, said:

“Around the globe China is buying influence and control and we have been blind to this pattern for far too long. It is now time to make foreign aid pay not just in alleviating poverty but in protecting our values.

“This is a small step at a fraction of China’s spending but if it triggers the start of a change in approach, it is something we should all welcome.”