Biden: "A World Infrastructure Plan Centered on the Indo-Pacific to Counter China"

Scheduled to be Announced at the G7 Summit in Germany This Month

U.S. President Joe Biden is delivering a speech at the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) meeting held in Philadelphia on the 14th (local time). [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] U.S. President Joe Biden is planning a global infrastructure initiative centered on the Indo-Pacific region to counter China's ambitions.

According to Bloomberg on the 16th (local time), Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, stated at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) in Washington DC that "the U.S.-led partnership will address global infrastructure, including the digital sector."

He added, "Ultimately, the U.S. and the G7 will invest hundreds of billions of dollars to provide an alternative to the infrastructure offered by China," and "this initiative is expected to remain a key imprint of the Biden administration's foreign policy for the remainder of its term."

He also noted, "This initiative will be pursued by allocating relatively modest U.S. government budgets alongside private sector investments." The plan is expected to be announced at the upcoming G7 summit in Germany from the 26th to the 28th.

In response, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing on the 17th, "China welcomes efforts for global infrastructure development, but President Biden's plan is based on a 'zero-sum game' approach," and criticized, "This plan ignores the aspirations of all countries for common development and 'win-win' cooperation, and therefore will gain no support."