AidData's Director of Policy Analysis, Samantha Custer, provided testimony on China’s influence and the status of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the Western Hemisphere at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on March 26th, 2025.

She drew from over a decade of AidData's research on China to explore three questions. (1) How does the People’s Republic of China (PRC) influence the Western Hemisphere? (2) In what ways does the PRC’s economic power constrain Taiwan’s ability to attract and retain diplomatic allies? (3) What are the key battlegrounds for influence, vulnerabilities, and opportunities for U.S. interests? Custer's testimony was subsequently turned into an AidData policy brief.