The Struggle between the US and China for the Developing World

Published in El Heraldo de México
(Mexico) on 24 June 2021
by Gerardo Traslosheros (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Tom Walker. Edited by Elizabeth Cosgriff.
Defeating COVID-19 and achieving a global economic recovery will require an urgent program of mass vaccination

There is fierce competition between the United States and China for global dominance. In the developing world, however, the struggle has intensified, with the focus recently shifting to vaccination and infrastructure, which could bring important benefits to low-income countries.

Defeating COVID-19 and achieving a global economic recovery will require an urgent program of mass vaccination. To counter the aggressive diplomacy of China (and Russia) in the developing world, which is lacking in resources, under Joe Biden’s diplomatic initiative the U.S. and its allies in the Group of Seven major industrial nations (Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom) announced a vaccination initiative at their recent summit meeting. They also promised to offer low-income countries financing and assistance for infrastructure development under the initiative known as “Build Back Better for the World,” seeking to provide an alternative to what China has been doing for some years now under its “Belt and Road” program.

However, the G-7’s offers of vaccinations for the developing world, while provided without charge, appear to be inadequate: They amount to only 2 billion doses since the start of the pandemic (1 million since the summit meeting). The needs are much greater because the pandemic is not letting up and new outbreaks are appearing in Latin America and India (Africa is still a question mark).

With regard to infrastructure, it is necessary to make the “Build Back Better for the World” initiative more substantial, avoiding duplication of other programs so as not to slide into mere rhetoric if the U.S. really wants to compete with China. About 100 countries already have projects under the “Belt and Road” initiative, which is having financial problems and often does not take environmental impacts into account. The U.S. and its allies have been slow to provide an alternative to “Belt and Road” through projects that are sustainable, transparent, of higher quality and with lower debt. The risk is that “Build Back Better for the World” will end up by recycling projects, with very little financing, at a time when the wealthy countries are decreasing their support for the poor countries.





La disputa entre EU y China por el mundo en desarrollo
Derrotar al COVID-19 y lograr la recuperación económica global pasa necesariamente por alcanzar una inmunización masiva y urgente
Columna Invitada

Existe una competencia intensa entre Estados Unidos y China por la dominancia global, pero en el mundo en desarrollo la batalla se ha acentuado, recientemente enfocándose en vacunación e infraestructura, lo que podría traer beneficios importantes para los países de bajos ingresos.

Derrotar al COVID-19 y lograr la recuperación económica global pasa necesariamente por alcanzar una inmunización masiva y urgente. Para enfrentar la agresiva diplomacia de China (y Rusia) en el mundo en desarrollo carente de recursos, bajo un esfuerzo diplomático de Joe Biden, EU y sus aliados del G7 (Alemania, Canadá, Francia, Italia, Japón y Reino Unido) anunciaron en su reciente reunión cumbre una iniciativa de vacunación. También se comprometieron a ofrecer a los países de menores ingresos, financiamiento y asistencia para el desarrollo de infraestructura bajo la iniciativa llamada Reconstruyendo el Mundo de Mejor Forma (Build Back Better the World o B3W), buscando brindar una alternativa a lo que China realiza hace años bajo su programa de La Franja y la Ruta (One Belt One Road).

Sin embargo, los ofrecimientos de vacunación del G7 para el mundo en desarrollo, aunque a manera de donativo, parecen insuficientes, pues son solamente dos mil millones de dosis desde el inicio de la pandemia (mil millones a partir de la reunión cumbre), cuando las necesidades son mucho mayores pues la pandemia no cede y surgen nuevos brotes en América Latina e India (África sigue siendo una incógnita).

En infraestructura, es necesario dar mayor sustancia a la iniciativa B3W, evitando duplicidades con otros programas para no caer en mera retórica si se quiere en verdad competir con China. Alrededor de 100 países ya cuentan con proyectos bajo OBOR, que tienen problemas financieros y frecuentemente no toman en cuenta el impacto ambiental. EU y aliados se habían demorado en brindar una alternativa a OBOR con proyectos sustentables, transparentes, de mejor calidad y menor deuda. El riesgo es que B3W termine siendo un reciclado de proyectos con poco financiamiento, en un momento en que los países ricos reducen su apoyo a los países pobres.
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