United States under Donald Trump is veering away from China’s belt and road
- Beijing’s global infrastructure drive will be in the spotlight this week when dozens of heads of state converge for the second Belt and Road Forum
- In the last of our four-part series, Nectar Gan and Robert Delaney look at the shift in the United States’ stance on China’s mega initiative
When the curtain raises on the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on Thursday, 40 foreign leaders and thousands of delegates from more than 100 countries will be there to witness China’s most important diplomatic event of the year.
Once muted, the US response to the sprawling plan to rebuild the ancient Silk Road by connecting China with the Middle East, Europe, Africa and beyond with massive infrastructure projects has now veered towards a hard-line stance and seeking allies to promote an alternative to Beijing’s development programme.
From the State Department to the largest US contractors, American involvement in global infrastructure build-outs is on a divergent track.
The turning point appeared after China’s first Belt and Road Forum two years ago, when US President Donald Trump sent a delegation led by Matthew Pottinger, the senior White House official for Asia.
Pottinger made headlines at the event with his declaration that US firms were “ready to participate in belt and road projects” and had “much to offer”, citing their “long and successful track record in global infrastructure development”.
