BEIJING: The outpouring of international aid to the Philippines makes China’s contribution for typhoon relief look like a trickle: Several countries and even Swedish furniture chain Ikea have done more than the world’s second-largest economy.

That won’t help Beijing’s campaign to win over neighbours with its soft power, according to critics.

China has pledged less than $2 million in cash and materials, compared to $20m provided by the United States, which also launched a massive military-driven rescue operation that includes an aircraft carrier.

Another Chinese rival, Japan, has pledged $10m and offered to send troops, ships and planes. Australia is giving $28m, and Ikea has offered $2.7m through its charitable foundation.

Critics say China’s reluctance to give more — apparently driven by a bitter feud with Manila over overlapping claims in the South China Sea — dents its global image at a time when it is vying with Washington for regional influence.

“China has missed an excellent opportunity to show itself as a responsible power and to generate goodwill,” said Zheng Yongnian, a China politics expert at the National University of Singapore. “They still lack strategic thinking.”

The decline of American influence in Asia, with China filling the vacuum, has been predicted for years.—AP