EU Commission Chief Announces Launch of Competitor to China’s Belt and Road

Western countries have repeatedly criticised Beijing's mega-project, which seeks to eliminate barriers and boost trade in Asia and beyond while investing heavily in other countries' transport infrastructure, believing China is using these investments to make the governments of these countries dependant on Beijing.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced the launch of the "Global Gateway" – a massive initiative that will seek to lift global barriers to trading goods and services.

"We want to turn Global Gateway into a trusted brand around the world. We will build Global Gateway partnerships with countries around the world. We want investments in quality infrastructure, connecting goods, people and services around the world".

Ursula von der Leyen

European Commission President

However, boosting global trade is hardly the only, and possibly not the main, goal of the new EU project. It is strikingly similar to a mega-project that has been criticised by Brussels – China's "Belt and Road" initiative. The latter is also designed to lift barriers to the flow of goods, especially exports from China, by harmonising trade laws, removing tariffs, creating transit gateways, and building new transport infrastructure with Beijing's investments.

Many Western countries claim that China uses these investments to indebt the participants and force them to align their policies (not only trade ones) with those of Beijing. Ursula von der Leyen's Global Gateway announcement speech on 15 September contained a reference to these accusations, with the EU chief stressing that the new European project is nothing like its Chinese analogue.

"We want to create links and not dependencies! We are good at financing roads. But it does not make sense for Europe to build a perfect road between a Chinese-owned copper mine and a Chinese-owned harbour. We have to get smarter when it comes to these kinds of investments".

Ursula von der Leyen

European Commission President

Von der Leyen added that the EU is entering a "new era of hyper-competitiveness", which, according to her, is characterised by some actors stopping at nothing to "gain influence" – purportedly referring to Beijing and its alleged Belt and Road tactics.

China has strongly rejected Western countries' allegations and stressed the importance of maintaining free trade. Beijing noted that the project opens new markets for goods, creates additional jobs in countries receiving the investments, and improves the infrastructure there.

The Belt and Road initiative is unfolding as China faces strong pressure from and confrontation with Western governments, especially the US. The latter has declared that deterring Beijing is one of its main strategic priorities and started a trade war with the country, levying tariffs on Chinese goods and limiting technology sales to China.