Russia war in Ukraine, China's growing global influence top Biden agenda on major Europe visit

Biden kicks off summit with promise of billions for developing world.

President Biden sought Sunday to rally America’s major allies to stay unified against Russia’s war in Ukraine while announcing a global infrastructure investment partnership among several of the world’s largest U.S.-aligned economies to counter China’s rising influence over Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The infrastructure investment partnership, which has drawn criticism for being a rehash of past initiatives that have struggled to gain global traction, was the centerpiece of opening meetings of leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations in Germany.

Biden, who appeared in the Bavarian Alps alongside German, French, British, Canadian, Italian and Japanese counterparts, said the investment partnership will mobilize $600 billion in “public and private capital” from the G-7 countries for projects that will show developing nations “the concrete benefits of partnering with democracies.”.

The G-7 partnership announced responses to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

International Development Finance Corp., backed with $60 billion to inspire private investment in developing countries worldwide.

At last year’s summit, he announced the Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative to try to inspire private investment from wealthy democratic countries toward infrastructure and other needs in the developing world.

The announcement Sunday was largely a reframing of the B3W initiative under a different name, and it remains to be seen whether the president has the geopolitical capital to steer the initiative toward tangible results.

will “mobilize $200 billion in public and private capital over the next five years” for the initiative, now formally called the Partnership for Global Infrastructure.

The president said the partnership will steer money toward areas “critical to sustainable development and to our shared global stability: health and health security, digital connectivity, gender equality and equity, climate and energy security.”.

Biden said some $335 million in private capital is being mobilized to supply secure network equipment in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The administration has done little to specify how it will inspire investments worth hundreds of billions of dollars from private corporations.

engagement on infrastructure is valiant but faces two big challenges,” said Satu Limaye, who heads the Washington office of the East-West Center and the Asia Matters for America initiative

private money has lots of places to seek returns, and infrastructure abroad does not so far appear to be very attractive,” Mr

Biden appeared to be in full pitch mode as he presented the G-7 infrastructure investment partnership as a moneymaker for everyone involved

“I want to be clear: This isn’t aid or charity; it’s an investment that will deliver returns for everyone, including the American people and the people of all our nations,” the president said in Germany

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at an event early this month at the Center for a New American Security think tank in Washington that the G-7 initiative centers on growing “global infrastructure — physical, health and digital infrastructure that we think can provide an alternative to what the Chinese are offering.”

Although the president avoided mentioning China by name, he stressed that the investment partnership centers on democracies supporting one another