Published: 09 November 2021, China International Strategy Review (2021)

Abstract

Considered a counterbalance to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the G7 countries recently launched the Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative, as an alternative channel for aiding lower income countries with infrastructure development. To better understand the strategic competition between Washington and Beijing, this essay analyzes how the Belt and Road Initiative influences China–US competition, especially in the Indo-Pacific region and in the field of digital economy. It also focuses on the B3W initiative, providing a preliminary analysis of the Biden administration’s use of B3W to compete with the Belt and Road Initiative. Through an in-depth investigation of interactions between Washington and Beijing over the Belt and Road Initiative, this essay also helps reveal the nuanced dynamics and characteristics of US–China strategic competition in the context of the digital era. Finally, it argues that international development should not be a zero-sum game in which developing countries facing urgent infrastructure and growth concerns must choose between China and the US.

Introduction

In June 2021, the G7 countries, leveraging the support of the Biden administration, launched the Build Back Better World, or B3W initiative, an attempt by the US and its allies to counterbalance the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

US President Joe Biden has emphasized that the US is engaged in “long-term strategic competition” with China, which he characterized as “extreme competition.” Undoubtedly, the B3W initiative is a crucial strategic step by the Biden administration in its competition with China. With the continuous advancement of Belt and Road construction projects, the US has become increasingly worried that China will challenge and undermine US interests worldwide. The Belt and Road Initiative, part of China’s grand strategy, is an important factor that propels the US perception of China as being a “growing threat” (Blumenthal 2018; Rolland 2017).

This essay analyzes how the Belt and Road Initiative influences US competitive strategy toward China and explores China–US competition surrounding the Belt and Road Initiative, especially in the Indo-Pacific region and in the field of digital economy. Finally, it focuses on the B3W initiative and provides a preliminary analysis of how the Biden administration uses it to counterbalance the Belt and Road Initiative. A deeper review of the interactions between Washington and Beijing over the Belt and Road Initiative offers an important window into the dynamics and characteristics of China–US strategic competition.

Click to read the full article: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42533-021-00087-7