West and allies relaunch push for own version of China’s Belt and Road

West and allies relaunch push for own version of China’s Belt and Road

A new undersea fibre optic data cable spanning the ocean between southern Europe and Latin America is due to come online this month — and the timing could hardly be more apposite.

The €150m EllaLink project is backed by public lenders including the European Investment Bank. It will go live just as the EU and its allies renew a push for co-operation on international infrastructure projects to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative, under which Beijing has extended its influence across the globe.

The aim is to boost collaboration between the EU and its partners — including Japan, the US and India — and support high-quality projects in low and middle-income countries. The theme is expected to loom large on the agenda at EU and G7 summits in May and June. The EU and its partners will attempt to give the drive the heft it has so far lacked, with Biden asking for it to be added the agenda at a G7 summit in the UK this summer.

“So far we are trying to counter Belt and Road mostly with buzzwords and lofty policy papers,” said one senior EU diplomat. “But unfortunately there is no real geopolitical strategy or plan which is consistent