Whether it is the US stick or the Chinese carrot, foreign policy boils down to the use of money, not the military

China dangles carrots by offering belt and road investments, and its vast market and trade, while the US wields the stick of sanctions and threats to withdraw financial support. But both rely on the common influence of money to persuade others

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Foreign policy under US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are not so different; despite their seemingly diametrically opposed strategies, the whiff of money pervades. Photo: AP

Published: 1:00am, 23 Oct 2019Updated: 4:10am, 23 Oct 2019

Idealists might not like it, but geopolitics and money go hand in hand. China is using largesse to extend its global footprint. Under President Donald Trump, the United States seem less inclined to have boots on the ground in faraway places and more inclined to shape events through the threat of sanctions or withdrawal of financial support.

Beijing is dangling carrots while Washington prefers a stick approach. But even as the two apply diametrically opposite strategies, the use of money, rather than the deployment of military assets, lies at the heart of both nations’ foreign policy objectives.

China has been persuading countries with formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan to switch recognition to Beijing instead. The prospect of trade opportunities in the vast Chinese market, along with China’s capacity and willingness to provide very generous aid and investment packages, are persuasive tools.

Only last month, the Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing. Economic considerations were key to the Pacific nation’s decision. “Establishing diplomatic ties with PRC [People’s Republic of China] can assist the country [to] achieve some of its development aspirations,” Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said last Sunday. “The cost of doing business with China, who is our single major trading partner, will become cheaper and more efficient.”

“Additionally, [the] Solomon Islands will greatly benefit from the Belt and Road Initiative”, which will provide infrastructure development that will “spur our economic development both in the urban centres and in the rural areas”, Sogavare added.