The U.S. government needs to offer the world an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) beyond a “don’t work with China” approach, experts say.
It has been about a decade since Beijing announced the BRI, previously named the One Belt, One Road Initiative. This initiative builds and finances infrastructure, transportation, technology, and energy projects across Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America.
But while Chinese officials assert this is a benign international endeavor meant to bolster trade, critics have described China expanding its role in economies across the globe as “debt-trap diplomacy,” which would leave borrowers vulnerable to Chinese interests and diminish U.S. influence on the world stage….