EU launches new USD 340bn global connectivity strategy to counter China's BRI
Dec 02, 2021
Brussels [Belgium], December 2 : The European Commission (EC) has announced a new USD 340-billion global strategy to boost sustainable links around the world called Global Gateway, a move being seen as a counter to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
"We aim to mobilize investees up to 300 billion euros [$340 billion] in the years 2021 to 2027, such funds cannot be found by EU alone, the global gateway will build a team Europe approach," Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen said on Wednesday during EC press conference on Global Getaway.
The new strategy aims at boosting the world's interconnectivity through building and strengthening high standard sustainable digital, economic, transportation, research and health systems across the world, according to a statement.
The commission added that for implementing the strategy, the European Union would use the so-called "team Europe" approach, encouraging member states with their financial and development institutions, including the European Investment Bank to work together and seek to mobilize the private sector in order to leverage investments for a transformational impact.
Experts believe that the European Union's Global Gateway has been launched to compete with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)/ Writing for The Times of Israel, geopolitical analyst Sergio Restelli in September said that the European Union's Global Gateway project has started becoming a major challenge to the BRI.
The BRI is a huge, geopolitically significant network of infrastructure and transport investments that Beijing uses to connect its exporters to western markets. The BRI was adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 and grew rapidly over the next few years. It intended to invest in nearly 70 countries and international organizations.
The US Government has announced a similar program, Build Back Better (at the world (B3W)) a few months ago also aimed at halting the BRI's expansion. Now with Europe in the fray Chinese expansion is likely to be severely curtailed, said Restelli.
According to the writer, China would potentially face difficulties in maintaining current deals and bilateral agreements under the BRI as the US and EU-led schemes to endorse transparency in trading, partnership and value-driven infrastructure development are conspicuously absent in the BRI's terms of reference.
