G7 leaders unveiled an initiative to support global infrastructure, launched as China’s Belt and Road Initiative pulls back. To succeed, the United States and its partners must design incentives that mobilize private capital and appeal to leaders in the developing world.
While China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) writ large has been slowing, a trend that predates the pandemic, its digital dimension is accelerating. The CSIS Reconnecting Asia Project and Economics Program look ahead at what is next for China’s BRI and four other emerging trends in 2021.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the acceleration of China’s digital infrastructure push have heightened the necessity of developing a comprehensive U.S. infrastructure strategy. The U.S. has taken several important steps toward fashioning its own positive vision for global infrastructure, but critical work remains.
The Blue Dot Network (BDN)—an effort by the United States, Japan, and Australia to promote high-quality global infrastructure—holds promise and should be encouraged, but many unanswered questions about its implementation will need to be addressed for the initiative to achieve its desired impact.
Xi Jinping wants to repair the Belt and Road brand—as 37 world leaders gather in Beijing—but promises for reform will require further monitoring. CSIS’s Matthew Goodman and Jonathan Hillman go over some key questions ahead of China’s Second Belt and Road forum.