Western countries have recently launched a flurry of initiatives to compete with the BRI. At the recent G7 summit, President Biden and the leaders of the other G7 nations announced plans for a new global infrastructure initiative, ‘Build Back Better World’. In September, the European Union launched its own ‘Global Gateway’ initiative. However, both schemes are at a fledgling stage of development, and no funding or projects have been announced. What can these initiatives hope to achieve?
The discussion will explore four broad themes. First, given that a dollar-for-dollar approach to match the BRI is unfeasible, how could G7 countries and the EU best incentivize private capital to underwrite infrastructure projects? Second, what should the U.S. and the EU do to coordinate their respective initiatives and mitigate any form of overlap? Third, to what extent have Western efforts succeeded in countering the expansion of Chinese technology in the Digital Silk Road? Fourth, where is the balance between high-standard development finance on the one hand, and the need for near-term economic results in the developing world on the other hand? Is Japan’s strategy in Southeast Asia a model from which other western countries should, or could, learn?
Speakers:
- Nicholas Crawford
- Meia Nouwens
- Tatsuya Terazawa
- David Sacks
Chair: Dr David Gordon
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