Bring Beijing’s influence back: Biden wants to compete with “Silk Road”

Saturday 27 March 2021

Bring back the influence of beijing
Biden wants to compete with “Silk Road”

As part of the “New Silk Road” initiative, China is trying to gain influence through loans and projects in some countries. To counter this, Biden is now planning a “similar initiative” under “democratic states”.

US President Joe Biden wants to work with other “democratic” countries to launch a rival project on China’s trillion-dollar “New Silk Road”. “I have suggested that we should take a similar initiative from essentially democratic states around the world to help those who really need help,” Biden told reporters. He first made his offer over the phone to Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Beijing’s influence has increased in recent years in some countries through loans and projects under the New Silk Road initiative. This project increased concern among regional powers and especially among Western countries. As part of the initiative, China helped many countries build or develop roads, railways, dams and ports.

London did not mention the US president’s proposal in his report on a phone call between Biden and Johnson, but spoke of “important measures” to ban “human rights abuses” in northwestern Xinjiang province.

Relations strained due to Uyghur persecution

Britain, the European Union, Canada and the US imposed sanctions on China earlier this week due to the repression of the Uygar Muslim minority in northwestern Xinjiang province. Beijing reacted sharply to the measures and, in turn, imposed restrictions on various politicians and scientists, as well as organizations in the European Union and other countries.

According to human rights organizations, at least one million Uigars and other Muslims are imprisoned in hundreds of detention camps in Xinjiang. There he is reportedly being forced to leave his religion, culture and language and in some cases misbehaved, with some reports calling for genocide. Beijing dismissed the allegations and spoke of training and work programs aimed at combating extremism in the regions.