The U.S. government aims to take another bite out of Chinese influence in Southeast Asia with a partnership to aid five countries that traditionally tap Beijing for help, experts in the region say. Chinese investment projects in other parts of Southeast Asia have fanned resentment over use of Chinese workers instead of local labour. “The thing is, China doesn’t ask difficult questions as to what the conditions would be if it invested, and they are very flexible,” said Alan Chong, Associate Professor at the RSIS in Singapore.