November 16, 2018
Leverage the new US International Development Finance Corporation to compete with China
The United States has a unique opportunity to up its game in the global economic competition with China. In early October, even as Democrats and Republicans in the Senate engaged in an unprecedented standoff over the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, they quietly came together to pass the Better Utilization of Investment Leading to Development (BUILD) Act, setting into motion the creation of a new U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC). The IDFC holds the potential to significantly boost America’s economic edge against China – if the Trump administration and Congress make the right choices in the coming months.
The stakes could not be higher. In recent years, China has advanced its influence across the developing world under the umbrella of what it calls “One Belt, One Road.” This Belt and Road strategy envisions a world connected by a web of Chinese-funded physical and digital infrastructure. It has involved unprecedented resources: according to independent estimates, around $340 billion from 2014 to 2017.
Marketed as Beijing’s “gift to the world,” the Belt and Road has in fact served to cement China’s status as a global power by creating opportunities for overseas military access and promoting relationships of debt dependency – all while corroding existing international commercial standards and imperiling democracy in some countries.
Read the full article in The Hill.
More from CNAS
-
U.S.-China relations are in a free fall, says expert
Video
Former State Department official Anja Manuel joins Morning Joe to discuss why she says U.S.-China relations are in a free fall. Watch the full conversation on MSNBC....
By Anja Manuel
-
The United States Can’t Afford to Turn Away Chinese Talent
Commentary
Intellectual property theft is a real concern, and China has been the world’s foremost infringer. But a blanket exclusion of Chinese students from U.S. academic and scien...
By Elsa B. Kania & Lindsay Gorman
-
How to use the next stimulus to counter China
Commentary
“Build back better” was the mantra New Orleans adopted after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. It should be our country’s motto as we work to recover from the economic and...
By Stephen J. Hadley & Anja Manuel
-
Trump Wants Answers on the Pandemic’s Origins. Politicizing Intelligence Won’t Help.
Commentary
Where did the coronavirus come from? The Trump administration says it wants answers to this question—but conflicting statements from U.S. leaders are further undercutting the ...
By Elsa B. Kania
