In an interview with Boris Johnson, President Biden proposed an alternative to China’s New Silk Road. Surprise, surprise. Great strategy, first badmouth the evil Chinese project and then, if it doesn’t work, conjure up an alternative.
Such statements make you stunned. Who should take this seriously? The BVDSI has accompanied the BRI positively but also critically from the start. We have always believed that this initiative was a global proposition and pointed to the opportunities for the West in this groundbreaking project. To our horror, the unbelievably concentrated ignorance and arrogance on the part of politics continues and produces further blooms of style, such as the idea of a Western Silk Road. This idea leads to an unholy competition of the political systems with unsuitable means and to the disadvantage of the global economy.
In contrast to the West, China is a resilient partner because China does not question the sovereignty of other states. The West has shown that words are often just words and not actions. Western values are sometimes quite disposable.
US $ 3.7 trillion has already flowed into current Belt and Road Initiative projects. In most cases, the projects financed with it, see Piraeus, are successful. Good luck USA! Neither the US nor the UK budget positions provide that. This will change less year after year.