China's Aid To Philippines Dwarfed By Ikea -- USA Today
An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect death toll, based on a U.N. report.
China is the world's second largest economy and closer to the Philippines than other major donors of assistance to the typhoon-ravaged archipelago.
Yet the paltry $1.6 million in aid it pledged to its neighbor was less than the check written by Swedish furniture store Ikea.
"China's action illustrates the blundering nature of its foreign policy," said Phillip Swagel, a former assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department and co-author of Awkward Embrace: The United States and China in the 21st Century. "This is an unforced error for them, revealing to other countries the limits of Chinese friendship."
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Update: China Increases Aid to Philippines -- New York Times
My Comment: This is embarrassing .... it will only reinforce the perception that China is very "stingy" with it's money.