Infrastructure: Washington launches an initiative to respond to China with the G7

“With the G7 partners, we aim to raise $600 billion for global infrastructure investment by 2027,” the White House said shortly before the White House unveiled the proposal at the Seven Nations Summit. Industrialization in Southern Germany.

The “Global Partnership for Infrastructure”, according to the same source, should “provide quality and sustainable infrastructure”.

The G7 has “set the ambition to make the world a better proposition in terms of investment in infrastructure”, underlined German Chancellor Olaf Scholz presenting the project with the US president.

The United States alone has pledged to raise some “$200 billion” over five years for the program.

But this verb, “to raise”, does not mean that the states themselves will provide such a large sum. Washington thus brings the total to $200 billion by combining US executive-incentivized debt, public financing – partly already existing – and private financing.

Westerners want to distance themselves from China, which has invested heavily in many developing countries, to build infrastructure through the so-called “New Silk Roads” program, or to ensure access to certain raw materials.

Yet Beijing is accused of funding its projects through loans that are not very profitable, even apparently dangerous, that would exacerbate the debt problems of already vulnerable countries.

“The Chinese offensive has been going on for “years and has resulted in a lot of cash payments and a lot of investments,” a senior White House official said on Sunday, “but it’s really not too late.”

“Many countries that have received funding or investments from the BRI (abbreviation for the Belt and Road Initiative) program now feel that they are more indebted, that their GDP has not increased significantly, the so-called investment have not reached their population,” said the same source, who did not wish to be named.

“Sub-Saharan Africa will clearly be a key priority” of the partnership launched by the G7, said this senior US executive, but assured that Central America, South-East Asia or Central Asia would also be “extremely important”. were the area. ,