Who should the developing world trust, the G7 or China?
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| [G7 vs China] |
Leaders of the world's most prosperous democracies have agreed to support a green and democratic alternative to China's 'Belt and Road Initiative,' or BRI.
It's part of a broader effort by Western countries to strike back against Beijing's autocratic policies and exploitative economic practices, according to Beijing.
The United States is attempting to provide a counterbalance to Chinese investment. The project to rebuild a better world, which will mobilize public and private wealth.
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The 'Belt and Road Initiative' is a trillion-dollar infrastructure project spearheaded by China that aims to resurrect the old Silk Road. It was launched in 2013 and is considered Chinese President Xi JinPing's flagship foreign policy goal, with plans to connect over 130 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
The US and many other countries, on the other hand, accuse Beijing of using loans as a debt trap. According to a recent report, several of China's debtor countries are in serious financial trouble, with eight of them facing default. When these countries are unable to meet their debt repayment obligations, Beijing might demand concessions or other benefits in exchange for debt relief. This is referred to as "Debt Trap Diplomacy."
President Biden's G-7 strategy is inspired by his own infrastructure motto, 'Build Back Better.' 'Build Back Better World,' or 'B3W,' will be the name of his worldwide version.
By 2035, the alliance hopes to collect enough funds to address the $40 trillion infrastructure gap in developing countries. However, the project has been panned due to a lack of information over how the plan would be funded and implemented. In this regard a former White House official Brett Bruen said, " There certainty a risk because they are elevating their expectations and if they fail to deliver, I think that would certainly undermine confidence in the West, in the United States. So you have to be careful with these things", while being interviewed by Al Jazeera.
A spokesman at the Chinese Embassy in London reiterated remarks from Xi Jinping's saying,"The days when global decisions were dictated by a small group of countries are long gone."
According to The New York Times, Joe Biden used the conference to highlight that the post-pandemic world will be a battleground between democracies and autocracies. He made it plain at a subsequent NATO meeting, where the Trans-Atlantic Alliance declared China a threat for the first time. Biden said," We talked about a long-term systemic challenges that Chinese activities posed to our collective security today. We agreed to do more to enhance the resilience of our critical infrastructure around the world."
According to The New York Times, Joe Biden used the conference to highlight that the post-pandemic world will be a battleground between democracies and autocracies. He made it plain at a subsequent NATO meeting, where the Trans-Atlantic Alliance declared China a threat for the first time.
To begin with, shady financial operations such as tax evasion and unlawful money transfers involving large multinational corporations, as well as interest payments on loans that have previously been paid off many times.
Even the G-7 is split on whether China should be considered a friend or foe. Germany, Italy, and the European Union (EU) are wary about jeopardizing trade and investment agreements with Beijing, as well as escalating what many experts view as a new cold war.
These contrasts explain why Western countries have been unable to come up with a viable alternative to China's BRI, and even with B3W, which lacks a defined roadmap, China appears to be the only one constructing for the time being.
[Disclaimer: This article may resemble TRT World's Double Check]