The sharp improvement in U.S.-Cuba relations is being hailed as the long-overdue end of a pointless enmity left over from the end of the Cold War ("The handshake with Castro," April 13).
The process of normalizing relations began after years of the international community calling for an end to the hostility and mistrust between the two countries. But this is not the only way for America to build better relations around the world.
China's current heavy investment in Africa is a perfect example of how foreign aid and investment can create mutually beneficial relations. While the exact amount of China's spending is unknown, it is estimated to be about $75 billion or more.
Investment has given China a great deal of economic and diplomatic benefits and has simultaneously helped improve living conditions for millions of Africans.
The perception that foreign aid gets thrown down a rabbit hole of corruption, waste and mismanagement is simply not correct. Countries that have received U.S. aid in the past, such as Taiwan, South Korea and the European countries under the Marshall Plan, are now some of our strongest allies and trading partners.
If Americans could get over their irrational aversion to foreign aid, it would lead to positive benefits that surprised them.
Mikhail Hershfeld, Ellicott City