U.S. promises Asian countries high standards infrastructure to counter China

The United States on Tuesday promised to build high-quality infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China's ambitious global projects of building roads, power stations, and railways.

Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State said in a speech at the University of Indonesia during a two-day visit, that countries in the region had been forced to take bad deals to fulfill their infrastructure needs.

He said in an apparent reference to China's Belt and Road initiative.

"We're hearing increasing concerns from government officials, industry, labour communities in the Indo-Pacific about what happens when infrastructure isn't done, right.

"These include projects awarded through opaque contracts, the influx of overseas workers at the expense of local manpower, and debt traps.

"We will work with countries in the region to deliver the high quality, high standards infrastructure that people deserve," he said.

Blinken said U.S., Australia, and Japan this week struck a deal with the Federated States of Micronesia, a Pacific island nation, to build a new undersea cable to improve internet connectivity.

"Under the Build Back Better World partnership initiative, Washington and other wealthy countries have pledged to invest in "sustainable" infrastructure worth hundreds of billions of dollars in developing countries in the coming years.

"Beijing is investing in roads, rail lines, ports, and other infrastructure projects to build new trade connections to Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

"That process sees China investing in countries that would otherwise struggle to access international aid.

"After Jakarta, Blinken was scheduled to make stops in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok."

Build Back Better World (B3W) is an international economic initiative undertaken by the Group of Seven (G7).

Launched in June 2021, the initiative is designed to provide an alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative for the infrastructure development of low- and middle-income countries.

Led by the United States, the G7 countries will work to address the 40 trillion dollars worth of infrastructure needed by developing countries by 2035.

The initiative aims to catalyse funding for quality infrastructure from the private sector and will encourage private-sector investments that support "climate, health, and health security, digital technology, and gender equity and equality".