G7 leaders launched this Sunday (26) a major infrastructure plan, driven by the United States, which aims to respond to China’s advance. According to the White House, the initiative, called “Collaboration for Global Infrastructure and Investment”, aims to increase development in low- and middle-income countries, strengthen the planet’s economy, as well as the distribution chain.
The project was announced during the G7 summit, which takes place in the city of Elmau, Germany, and aims to mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars to create sustainable infrastructure in allied developing nations.
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, announced that the country will allocate US$ 200 million (R$ 1,13 billion) to the initiative over five years, through funds from the federal government, in collaboration with the private sector.
Among the pillars of the plan are the fight against the climate crisis and the improvement of energy security with investments in low-emission infrastructure, battery production plants and development of clean sources.
In the technological field, the Active activity contemplates the development and expansion of communications and information technology by working with “trusted providers” that provide 5G and 6G, as pointed out by the White House. Investments in health systems, vaccines and medical equipment are also contemplated, as well as the surveillance and detection of “new diseases”, which includes “safe laboratories” and the prevention of future pandemics.
Investments are in response to China’s new Silk Road
The US government reported that the US company SubCom won a bid worth US$ 600 million (R$ 3,13 billion) to build the submarine cabling that will link Southeast Asia with the Middle East and Western Europe. The equipment, which will have a length of 17 one thousand kilometers, will allow a high-speed connection from Singapore to France, passing through Egypt and Northeast Africa.
The United States also wants to mobilize US$ 355 million (R$ 1,85 billion) in investments to offer internet and financial technology in the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The large-scale infrastructure plan had been proposed by Biden at last year’s edition of the G7 summit, which took place in the United Kingdom .
The initiative aims to be an alternative to the Chinese project “One Belt, One Road” (One Belt, One Road, in English), which aims to revitalize the well-known Silk Road, focusing on modernizing infrastructure and telecommunications to improve connectivity between Asia and Europe.
