U.S. Spent $1.6 Billion Countering China — With No Idea If It's Working

Why It Matters

The United States has poured more than $1.6 billion since fiscal year 2020 into countering China's influence globally, yet federal auditors found the State Department and USAID have no idea whether any of it is working. A newly released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report exposes a sprawling, unmonitored spending apparatus designed to counter Beijing's geopolitical ambitions, revealing that agencies cannot account for the effectiveness of their own investments in this intensifying competition for global influence.

The findings reveal a critical gap in how Washington manages one of its most consequential strategic priorities. As the U.S.-China competition for economic and geopolitical influence reshapes global markets and alliances, policymakers are spending billions with virtually no framework to measure results or course-correct failures. That absence of accountability raises uncomfortable questions about whether these investments are hitting their mark or simply disappearing into bureaucratic machinery.

The Big Picture

The State Department and USAID have funded approximately 470 projects valued at nearly $1.2 billion across fiscal years 2020 through 2023 as part of the government's China containment strategy, yet the agencies lack basic information about what they are funding. Working group officials overseeing the portfolio do not have readily available and reliable data on the types and status of those approximately 470 funded projects.

The data gaps are striking. Of the approximately 470 projects, 129 projects had no data on time frames, and 38 projects had no data on lines of effort. Working group officials lacked data on the specific projects funded from nearly a third of the approved proposals. Without knowing when projects are supposed to conclude or what they are actually supposed to accomplish, agencies cannot measure progress or identify waste.

The State Department and USAID have not assessed the overall results of the counter-Chinese influence projects. This means that despite nearly $1.2 billion in spending over four years, no one in government can point to concrete evidence that these investments are advancing U.S. strategic objectives in the broader China competition.

An interagency working group oversees the proposal process and drafts annual guidance for bureaus and overseas posts to submit project proposals for funding, but the system is designed in ways that invite blind spots. The proposal process does not require bureaus and posts to seek input from key stakeholders with issue area or regional expertise. This means projects can move forward without vetting from officials who actually understand the regions or policy domains where money is being spent.

The working group's lack of data compounds the problem. Officials cannot reliably track what has been approved or funded, making it impossible to identify duplicative efforts or strategic gaps.

Political Stakes

The Senate requested this GAO review via a provision in the Senate report accompanying the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024. The timing reflects growing congressional frustration with how the executive branch manages strategic spending without clear metrics for success.

The GAO report, published on June 17, 2026, made five recommendations directed to the Department of State. The recommendations target the core problems: the State Department should ensure the Office of China Coordination releases annual guidance earlier in the proposal process so bureaus have adequate time to plan; regional and functional bureaus should obtain and document input from relevant regional and issue area experts on all proposals; regional China Officers should review and document input on all proposals submitted by operating units within their region.

Most critically, report suggested that the State Department should ensure consistent collection and periodic updates of complete data on funded projects at a sufficient level of detail. It also recommended that the agency should develop a process for assessing the results of the portfolio of Countering PRC Influence Fund projects.

The Department of State concurred with all five GAO recommendations, but concurrence does not guarantee implementation.

The Bottom Line

The GAO's findings arrive at a moment when the stakes of U.S.-China competition have never been higher. Competition over critical minerals, technology standards, and regional alliances is reshaping the global order. The State Department and USAID are tasked with countering China's influence across this entire landscape, yet they are doing so without the basic tools to measure whether their investments are succeeding.

The five open recommendations from the GAO represent the floor for reform. Until the State Department implements systems to collect data, assess results, and incorporate expert input into project selection, Congress and the public will have no way to know whether the billions being spent on countering China's influence are producing the geopolitical returns that justify the investment. The report is a reminder that spending alone does not constitute strategy.

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