Jake Sullivan was full of praise when, barely back in Washington, he took stock of Joe Biden’s first trip abroad. The US president “confidently and skillfully put on the cloak of the leader of the free world,” the National Security Advisor said in a conference call. A particular success in the eyes of Sullivan: the new infrastructure initiative of the G7, called Build Back Better World. It is intended to counter China’s billion-dollar Silk Road project with a climate-friendly and transparent Western alternative. With the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing has so far financed roads, power plants and transmission masts in developing countries – and is using the money to massively expand its influence.
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