Munich: The Group of Seven (G7) nations have unveiled a significant infrastructure initiative for lower-income countries in a bid to counter China’s multitrillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, dubbed the “New Silk Road”.
Citing China for its forced labour practices is part of President Joe Biden’s campaign to persuade fellow democratic leaders to present a more unified front to compete economically with Beijing. But while they agreed to work toward competing against China, there was less unity on how adversarial a public position the group should take.
Canada, the United Kingdom and France largely endorsed Biden’s position, while Germany, Italy and the European Union showed more hesitancy during Saturday’s first session of the Group of Seven summit, according to two senior Biden administration officials.
The announcement was made as the leaders of the G7 countries – the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France and Japan – gathered at the seaside resort of Carbis Bay in southwestern England.
Their “Build Back Better World” (B3W) project, championed by US President Joe Biden’s administration, is aimed squarely at competing with the Belt and Road initiative, which has been widely criticised for saddling small countries with unmanageable debt.
Comments are closed.