On Jan 7, US President Donald Trump proposed raising the United States’ military expenses by about 50 percent to $1.5 trillion. This shocked the world. It sounds as if he is preparing for a major war. Before the increase, US military expenses in 2024 were already more than the sum of the next nine countries’ spending combined, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The US’ 2024 military spending stood at $997 billion. In comparison, China spent $314 billion on military expenditures in the same year.
A good question is: Where will the additional spending come from? The federal government debt is already over $38 trillion, and the country’s infrastructure was rated a “C” in 2025 by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). This was the best rating since the ASCE started its quadrennial reports on the US infrastructure rating in 1998. The improvement was made possible by the passing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021 under then-US president Joe Biden. Darren Olson, chair of the 52-person ASCE committee that puts together the report card, urged the US government “to continue sustained investment in infrastructure and build on progress made to improve infrastructure after decades of deferred funding and underinvestment”.
President Trump says he wants to make America great again. But how can America be great again when its infrastructure spending is falling behind needs? The ASCE puts it well: “For American families and businesses to thrive, we need a first-class infrastructure system that moves people and goods safely, sustainably, efficiently, and affordably by land, water, and air; energy transmission systems that deliver clean, dependable, low-cost power; and water systems that reliably and safely drive industrial processes, as well as the daily functions of our communities.” Although the overall grade was raised, ASCE downgraded the energy sector to “D+” from “C-” predicting at least a $578 billion investment shortfall by 2033.
The entire world, with the exception of the US, is taking climate change seriously. It’s important for the US to stand tall and be “great again” in shouldering global responsibilities. Ignoring science and shunning global responsibilities will not make America great again
President Trump wants to win the artificial-intelligence race and to rebuild its shipbuilding industry and “reshore” much manufacturing. But America’s infrastructure for energy and water supply is frail, and its industrial supply chain has too many holes, aggravated by bottlenecks in the transportation system. In contrast, China has built the world’s best electricity transmission and storage infrastructure, apart from its advances in power generation. China has also built the infrastructure so that water-abundant parts of the country in the south can supply water to the north, where water supplies are short. China’s high-speed rail system hit 50,400 kilometers in 2025, while the overall railway network hit 165,000 km. Instead of focusing on rebuilding its infrastructures, the US’ increased military spending will only benefit the defense industry. What about education? What about healthcare? What about housing? What about assistance to the poor and the frail?
Last week, President Trump withdrew the US from dozens more international organizations intended to foster multinational cooperation that address the key global issues of the day: international security, law, trade, economic cooperation, and human rights. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that the withdrawals indicated that the effort spent on those initiatives did not benefit the American people at all, particularly given that many of the organizations were “dominated by progressive ideology”, including gender equality and climate change. Denial of climate change is telling the world that the US does not believe in science. On NASA’s website, I found the following descriptions: The current warming is happening at a rate not seen in the past 10,000 years; the influence of human activity on the warming of the climate system has evolved from theory to established fact; scientific information taken from natural sources … all show the signs of a changing climate; from global temperature rise to melting ice sheets, the evidence of a warming planet abounds.
Climate change is an established scientific fact and a recent development that is posing an existential threat to human survival. The entire world, with the exception of the US, is taking climate change seriously. It’s important for the US to stand tall and be “great again” in shouldering global responsibilities. Ignoring science and shunning global responsibilities will not make America great again.
President Trump reportedly has accepted an invitation from President Xi Jinping to visit Beijing in April and has reciprocated by inviting President Xi for a state visit to the US. Another piece of encouraging news is that the US Commerce Department has withdrawn a plan to impose restrictions on Chinese-made drones. All these are good signs for Sino-American relations. There is no reason why America and China cannot be friends. If we work together, we can not only make America and China both great nations that Americans and Chinese are proud of but also contribute to world peace and prosperity. Rather than being seen as a threat to US national security, China can help the US in many ways, including prevention of and fighting wildfires, infrastructure building, and scientific collaboration. The US can save much of its military spending to spend on the betterment of Americans. The Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative, and Global Governance Initiative welcome America’s participation. That will augur a golden future for humanity.
The author is an honorary research fellow at the Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute, Lingnan University, and an adjunct professor at the Academy for Applied Policy Studies and Education Futures, the Education University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
