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A new submarine fiber-optic data cable crossing the ocean between southern Europe and Latin America will have to be put online this month, and the timing could hardly be more unpleasant.
The 150 million euro EllaLink project is supported by public lenders, including the European Investment Bank. It will be put into operation just when the EU and its allies renew the momentum of cooperation on international infrastructure projects to counter China and the belt initiative, under which Beijing has extended its influence around the world.
The aim is to foster collaboration between the EU and its partners, including Japan, the United States and India, and to support high-quality projects in low- and middle-income countries. The issue is expected to be on the agenda at EU and G7 summits in May and June. The EU and its partners will try to give strength to the unity it has lacked so far, and Biden called for the agenda to be added at a G7 summit in the UK this summer.
“So far we are trying to counter Belt and Road mainly with buzzwords and lofty policy documents,” a senior EU diplomat said. “But unfortunately, there is no real geopolitical strategy or plan that is coherent and coherent. There is a real need to work together on infrastructure projects and prevent countries from becoming overly dependent on China. “
Lindsay Gorman, a member of the Alliance for the Security of Democracy, an advocacy group, said the effort could be successful as long as it is more focused and imaginative than simply trying to “counter all the pathways China is building.” Instead, the EU and its allies should focus on critical sectors such as digital to curb China’s authoritarian reach in regions such as Africa, Central Asia and Latin America, as well as in Europe.
“There are fewer physical roads than digital highways that fuel repressive systems,” he said, adding, “It’s really about throwing significant capital behind us, and identifying those strategic areas where we can do the best.” .
The BRI has become a strategic point a tool for Beijing since its launch in 2013, as dozens of countries joined China-backed projects such as railways, bridges and ports. It has been endorsed by more than 150 states and international organizations, including more than half of the EU’s 27 nations. Beijing has expanded the idea with initiatives such as the Digital Silk Road, the Polar Silk Road and the Green Silk Road.
One response from the international powers is one an infrastructure alliance between the EU and India is expected to be agreed this month. There was also “clearly an opening” for Europe to work more closely with the United States under the Biden administration, said Jonathan Hillman, of the think tank at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Analysts are unclear how the United States and the EU could deter countries from signing projects with China’s support © Atul Loke / Bloomberg
The last impetus for an alternative to the BIS comes after previous efforts yielded few concrete results. Although the EU launched a connectivity plan in 2018 and signed a partnership with Japan in 2019, neither has produced star projects in third countries. The United States has little to show about the Build Act, passed in 2018 to boost private sector investment in the poorest countries, and the Blue Dot Network initiative to certify infrastructure standards, launched with Japan and Australia the following year. .
Critics say the EU and its partners are arriving too late. Beijing has led the BIS for more than seven years and has given priority to international infrastructure long before, especially in Africa.
Proponents of a stronger Western counter than a growing backlash against Chinese projects offer a second chance, as some recipient countries complain that BIS debt conditions are heavy and construction and environmental standards are poor. .
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But obstacles remain, including internal divisions between potential partners. While most EU member states, including France and Germany, are strongly in favor of expanding bloc associations, some officials argue that initiatives should not be just about building new “hardware” to compete with the BRI, but in creating partnerships based on shared rules and regulations.
“We now understand that this is not just about infrastructure but about… The opportunity to set standards,” an EU diplomat said. “[Whoever] write the rules that govern the world “.
Meanwhile, international powers have different positions on China, with some wary of jeopardizing economic ties or igniting security tensions in Asia. While the United States has expressed its vocation to call for international cooperation to take over Beijing, others such as the EU and India are reluctant to join an explicit alliance against China.
Other potential problems include funding. Public institutions such as the Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank could provide funding, but many things should come from the private sector, officials say.
Analysts are also unclear how the United States and the EU could convince countries not to sign up for China-backed projects that are not backed by Western nations, Hillman said: “If there is an internal interest in doing so, and a source of funding that China is willing to provide, how to prevent bad projects from happening? It seems almost impossible. ”
All this means that there is unlikely to be a single global infrastructure initiative as an alternative to the BIS. Officials say there is more likely to be a mosaic of separate but coordinated bilateral and multilateral initiatives.
Reinhard Bütikofer, chairman of the European Parliament delegation for relations with China, said the latest impetus seemed more serious than previous iterations.
“The Chinese raided because they had something to offer that we didn’t do,” said Bütikofer, one of the EU officials who submitted sanctions to Beijing in March in retaliation for the measures imposed by the bloc on Chinese officials.
“We have learned a lesson from this. There is a great opportunity to be better partners in some of these countries than the Chinese who are willing to be. “
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