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    Can Biden’s Green Global Plan Challenge China’s Trade Supremacy?

    President Biden laid out a massive new initiative at the G7 Summit. But can his global infrastructure policy chip away at China’s dominance?
    The recent détente between rivals Huawei and Xiaomi could signal a huge shift in China's tech industry. Image: Shutterstock
    Adina-Laura AchimAuthor
      Published   in News

    What happened

    On Sunday, the G7 leaders agreed on their approach to Beijing. They’ll synchronize their response to trade and human rights violations while cooperating with China on the climate crisis.

    President Biden demanded that the G7 leaders go beyond denouncing the use of forced labor and start acting against it as a group, according to The Guardian.

    “What we came together clearly to say and put forward today was a need to speak with one voice, a need to coordinate much more closely our working together and our focus,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

    President Biden also promoted a Western model that will challenge The Belt and Road Initiative. The program is expected to counter Huawei’s dominance in the world and build resilient supply chains.

    Build Back Better World is seen as “a climate change Marshall Plan” that will offer developing nations assistance with “green” international infrastructure projects. Until now, it is unclear how these programs will get funded.

    The Jing Take

    The Build Back Better World program is a remarkable initiative that could target sectors in dire need of financial assistance. Moreover, it could support sustainable industrialization in developing countries. But China has already spent hundreds of billions on massive infrastructure projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The Council on Foreign Relations highlights that more than sixty countries have signed on to projects or showed an interest in participating in BRI.

    It would be a challenge to pressure those countries into ditching China for a vague and unstructured program. This Atlanticist ideology has also been contested in some developing nations. Therefore, liberal values and practices might lose support against Chinese views. Consequently, some developing nations might pivot to China.

    Whether or not the program gets accepted remains unclear. But despite its shortcomings, the Build Back Better World program could bring significant public infrastructure improvements with it. Meanwhile, the program could improve access to strategic markets and boost the flow of goods and services.

    The retail industry would also greatly benefit from infrastructure improvements and the development of new trade routes. Those changes could trigger adjustments in logistics, transport, and supply chain management practices.

    End users could get swift access to goods manufactured in distant corners of the world, while manufacturers would adapt to market changes faster and improve their production rates. That would both decrease the environmental impact of retail and encourage the creation of more sustainable economies.

    The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

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