Two prominent analysts at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., contend that the main U.S. development finance agency is not doing enough to “counter” China’s growing influence in developing countries.

Since it was re-launched in 2019, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has opted to avoid the large-scale energy and transportation infrastructure projects that have been the hallmark of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Instead, DFC has opted to provide smaller loans and grants to private enterprises that have long struggled to raise capital from traditional lenders, either from banks or issuing bonds.