In addition to the Joint Statement from the Quad meeting, the White House also posted yesterday a five-page Fact Sheet. includes an implied attack on China’s Belt and Road Initiative. It explains that “building” on the G7’s “Build Back Better World (B3W)” proposal, “the Quad will rally expertise, capacity, and influence to strengthen ongoing infrastructure initiatives in the region and identify new opportunities to meet the needs there.”
It continues, “Building on existing leadership from Quad partners on high-standards infrastructure, a senior Quad infrastructure coordination group will meet regularly to share assessments of regional infrastructure needs and coordinate respective approaches to deliver transparent, high-standards infrastructure. The group will also coordinate technical assistance and capacity-building efforts, including with regional partners, to ensure our efforts are mutually reinforcing and complementary in meeting the significant infrastructure demand in the Indo-Pacific.” One might ask: Given that the U.S. has been letting its national infrastructure deteriorate and collapse for the last 50 years, how could it possibly be committed to meeting the infrastructure needs of other countries?
