For U.S. Foreign Aid, Better Strategy is the Answer

In the Nov. 22 Republican presidential debate, several candidates argued that the U.S. can no longer afford its foreign aid budget. In previous debates, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney went even one step further, explaining that the United States should not borrow money from China just to give it to other countries as aid. Instead, he argued, we should let the Chinese give aid directly to foreign countries if that is what they want to do.

Romney is right to mention China, but he draws the wrong conclusion. China already provides large amounts of aid to countries throughout the developing world, much like we do. The difference between the United States and China, however, is that China deploys this aid as part of a broader strategy to open markets to Chinese companies and gain access to valuable natural resources. The lesson for the United States, then, is not to do away with foreign aid, but to take a page out of the Chinese playbook and begin deploying aid in such a way that it will yield economic benefits -- both in the short and long term -- for the United States. ...