The US risks falling behind in a global battle for influence with China, Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, has warned, in a bleak account of how Washington’s straitened financial circumstances affect its global role.
In an appearance before Congress, Mrs Clinton highlighted the “unbelievable” competition with China for influence over islands in the Pacific, with development of Papua New Guinea’s “huge” energy reserves one of the key issues at stake.
Arguing against proposed cuts to the State Department budget, she added that the US was already losing an “information war” to al-Jazeera, the Arab news channel, with Russia and China increasing their international broadcasting as Washington and London pulled back.