Reckoning with a world still navigating a pandemic and the changing diplomatic realities a war in Ukraine has wrought, United States Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) this week called for increased COVID-19 aid abroad to counter Russian and Chinese influence.
“As Russian tanks roll into Ukraine and Vladimir Putin looks to rebuild the Soviet empire, the implications for global stability and the international rule of law are grim,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. “Tyrants and petty strongmen around the world will be emboldened to take what they want, and as they do, they will find support in each other, ushering in a new cold war between democracies and autocracies, Russia and the People’s Republic of China chief among them. In this moment, we must consider the full scope of the new cold war in which we now find ourselves engaged.”
Weapons, finance, humanitarian aid – nothing has been off the table, according to Krishnamoorthi, as both Putin’s Russia and the Chinese Communist Party ingrain themselves into the workings of other countries. While the United States has long been the world’s chief supplier of medicines, food, and economic assistance for developing countries, to various ends and results, the congressman pointed to the PRC’s Belt and Road Initiative in particular as something upsetting that old vision.
Belt and Road is a global infrastructure development strategy China has pursued since 2013, which calls for investments in nearly 70 countries and international organizations. It is meant to intertwine China more thoroughly with global affairs in a leadership role based on its spending and power. The initiative has been highly successful, shipping nearly 1.5 billion vaccines to countries worldwide and promoting health and development assistance in the Southern Hemisphere especially.
Krishnamoorthi held nothing back in his criticism of the situation, calling it a Faustian bargain that lagging American attention has allowed to grow.
“We must counter the influence of Russia and the People’s Republic of China by fully funding American COVID-19 aid programs,” Krisnamoorthi said. “We must demonstrate the strength and generosity of the United States and our democratic allies by delivering desperately needed vaccines, therapeutics, and medical equipment to low-income countries and by building the infrastructure to get shots in arms as fast as possible. As we consider legislation to send much-needed security and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, we must also include the $5 billion requested by the White House and more to fight COVID-19 in developing countries around the world. To fail to do so would be to allow Russia’s and the PRC’s malevolent influence and ambition to spread unchecked.”