US competes with China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ with US$113 million Asian investment programme
The infrastructure development plan was revealed by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Washington
The US government is expanding its infrastructure drive in the Asia-Pacific region using new investment programmes amid rising anxiety in Washington about China’s aggressive overseas development policies.
Announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday, the initiative follows concerns about the Trump administration’s commitment to engaging with countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Pompeo will visit Southeast Asia from Wednesday to Sunday, when he is expected to announce funding plans for the region.
Pompeo’s “Indo-Pacific Economic Vision” will increase the financial support that the US government provides to countries in the region through a proposed merged agency, the US International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC).
Along with US$113 million in direct government investment, the plan would double the global spending cap for the development finance corporation to US$60 billion, which could be used to provide private companies with loans for projects overseas.
That and could in turn worsen relations that are already fraught with trade tensions, even though senior officials have not said – and probably will not say – the new initiative intentionally targets China.