US may boost projects in Indo-Pacific to counter Beijing’s belt and road plan
As China’s sprawling trade and infrastructure plan enters its fifth year, observers say Washington is considering policy response
Washington is considering boosting infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific to counter Beijing’s growing global clout through its “Belt and Road Initiative”, observers say, after last month’s Congress hearing on a policy response to the plan.
“The US, including Congress, is starting to shift from awareness about the belt and road toward a response,” Jonathan Hillman, a fellow with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said. “Above all, the US needs to put forward its own positive economic vision. That vision need not be framed in opposition to the belt and road.”
Hillman, who testified at the Congress hearing, said the Indo-Pacific strategy could be part of the US response.
“But it needs to be operationalised. Geographically, the US also needs to work with partners and allies in other areas of the world, including eastern and central Europe, for example,” he said.
China’s push to revitalise trade routes across Eurasia and via a maritime route across the Indian Ocean to reach Europe and Africa is entering its fifth year. The initiative has so far centred on infrastructure projects, but the potential of China’s growing geopolitical influence and increasing military presence along the route has raised concern among stakeholders in the region.