12.07.2021 – 17:50
Following the G7 commitment, the EU seeks to rival China with its infrastructure plan.
European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to launch a global infrastructure plan linking Europe to Asia and the rest of the world, a promise made by the group of the world’s seven richest democracies.
The initiative is being seen as a “threat” to the initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s project to connect Europe with Asia.
“We see China using economic and financial means to increase its political influence around the world. We have to offer alternatives, “German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told reporters at a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels.
The EU has already signed partnerships with Japan and India to coordinate transport, energy and digital projects connecting Europe and Asia. Both Tokyo and Delhi are concerned about Chinese noise that officials say makes poor countries look out of Beijing because they are forced to take on such huge debts.