China, US are not the only nations that support overseas development
As Washington announces a multibillion plan for infrastructure investment in the Asia-Pacific we look at what other nations are doing
While he made no reference to the Beijing-led scheme, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that the “Indo-Pacific Economic Vision” would increase the financial support the US provided to countries in the region through a proposed merged agency, the US International Development Finance Corporation.
Along with US$113 million in direct government investment, the plan would double the global spending cap for the agency to US$60 billion, which could be used to provide private companies with loans for projects overseas, he said.
The direct investment would be in new technology, energy and infrastructure initiatives, Pompeo said. The US would also spend US$25 million to expand technology exports to the region, add nearly US$50 million to help countries produce and store their energy resources, and create a new support network to boost infrastructure development.
Despite Beijing’s and Washington’s massive investment plans for Asia, they are not the first to support socioeconomic development programmes in the region or elsewhere.