Gutting aid, U.S. cedes soft power game to China

by Shaun TANDON When President Donald Trump froze nearly all US foreign aid, Cambodia was forced to suspend workers removing dangerous mines from the country — until China stepped in with the necessary funding. In the Cook Islands, traditionally bound to New Zealand and friendly with the United States, the prime minister has announced plans to head to Beijing to sign a cooperation deal. Successive U.S. administrations have vowed to wage a global competition with China, described as the only potential rival for global leadership. But as seen in Cambodia and the Cook Islands, two small but strategic countries, the…