bigger diplomatic footprint in East Asia may not mean China has edge over US

US efforts to boost presence in region via mechanisms like; Aukus count: Expert

- Bhagyashree Garekar

CALHOUN (Georgia) - China has a larger diplomatic footprint than the United States in East Asia but it is debatable if it has stolen a march on the Western nation as well.

A new report shows that China has a significant advantage over the US in having the largest number of diplomatic posts in East Asia, as both nations compete to project influence in a region the US views as an essential part of its Indo-Pacific strategy.

China has 44 diplomatic posts in East Asia while the US has 27, according to the 2024 Global Diplomacy Index released on Feb 25 by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute, an international policy think-tank.

Its analysis of the number of embassies and consulates maintained by countries worldwide showed Beijing at the top with 274 posts in its global network, followed closely by Washington with 271.

Apart from East Asia, China has more diplomatic missions than the US in Africa, the Pacific Island countries and Central Asia. The US leads in Europe, the Americas and South Asia.

The Lowy study, now in its fifth edition, says China surpassed the US for the first time in 2019, by three posts. Two years later, it had pulled further ahead, leading the US by eight posts. But by 2023, the gap narrowed again to China being ahead by three.

"It shouldn't come as a surprise that China has more diplomatic outposts in East Asia than the US," said Mr Blake Berger, associate director at the New York-based Asia Society Policy Institute.

"It is geographically in closer proximity to North-east and South-east Asian states and, as a corollary, has more nationals based in, travelling to, or conducting business in the region," he said.