The battle for diplomatic influence

Through the Silk Road Initiative, China has been investing in infrastructure projects worth billions of dollars and, through financial dependencies, binds developing and emerging countries in particular to itself. A ranking now shows that the People's Republic has also outstripped the USA in official diplomatic missions for some time.

For some time now, China and the USA, representing the West, have been fighting for diplomatic influence in regions around the world. Now, for the first time, the People's Republic has the most representatives worldwide in terms of numbers. Credit: wenjin chen/Getty Images