The Group of Seven leaders met in the United Kingdom and the role of Chinese expansionism and dominance remained a matter of concern. The G7 leaders have unveiled a new mission to counter China. G7 leaders have backed a vast global infrastructure plan to rival the Chinese “Belt & Road” project. The “Build Back Better World” (B3W) project is for developing and emerging countries. The brainchild of the project is US President Joe Biden.
The aim of the project is to help countries to recover from pandemic. This will be done by focusing on climate, health, digital technology and the fight against inequality. The global infrastructure initiative will help narrow the $40+ trillion infrastructure need in the developing world, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.The project will provide breather to debt trap countries in Asia, Africa & Latin America who have been forced to shed their autonomy and sovereignty due to failure in servicing unmanageable debt.
The BRI is spread across 2600 projects at a cost of $3.7 Trillion. The $62 Billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor has bankrupted Pakistan and they are approaching the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package to meet its external obligations. The Islamic terror exporting nation is unable to meet its repayment obligations, thereby pressurized by China to serve its geostrategic interest. The strategic port of Gwadar in Arabian Sea has been transferred to China. Similarly unable to meet its financial obligations, the Island nation of Srilanka has leased a Port in Hambantota district, some 250 km south of Colombo, to China for 99 years. The Island sovereignty was further ceded when Rajapakse administration passed a bill to enable Dragon to construct & fund $1.4 billion Colombo International Port City.
And India will play a pivotal role in the G7 “B3W” plan to emerge as an alternative to “BRI” and will need extensive investment. The Senator from United States Steve Davis has stated India is the fastest growing FinTech market and is ahead of US in financial innovation. The move by G7 nations will catalyse hundreds of billions of dollars of infrastructure investment for low- and middle-income countries and plan would mobilize private capital through development finance. The move will benefit democratic nations to save the low & middle income countries from predatory lending of China & the aim is values-driven, high-standard, and transparent infrastructure partnership.
Excellent alternative