Boris Johnson, Joe Biden deliver message to China: the West is back

Britain and the US have vowed to challenge China’s growing dominance on the world stage, delivering a blunt warning to Beijing’s autocratic regime.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden. Picture: AFP

Britain and the US have vowed to challenge China’s growing dominance on the world stage as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson ­declared: “The West is back.”

The heads of the world’s leading democracies announced a ­global infrastructure plan to give developing countries an alternative to doing business with the autocratic regime in Beijing.

Under the “Build Back Better for the World” plan, the richest ­democracies will offer financing for infrastructure, from railways in Africa to wind farms in Asia.

The approach is intended to give developing countries faster access to money and “turbocharge green growth”, accelerating a global shift to renewable energy.

The World Health Organisation also used the summit to pile pressure on China over claims that the coronavirus emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan. Director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 3.75 million people had died worldwide. “We need transparency. The respect those people deserve is knowing what the origin of the virus is.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping stands on a military jeep as he inspects troops of the People's Liberation Army during a military parade. Picture: AP

The infrastructure scheme is being billed as a rival to the Belt and Road Initiative launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013 to spread China’s influence. More than 100 countries have signed agreements with China to co-operate on projects such as railways, ports and roads.

Critics say that the deals often involve Beijing lending money that borrowers cannot ­afford to repay, giving China part-ownership of strategic assets in Asia and Africa. Other projects have led to claims of environmental damage and poor safety standards have led to the deaths of workers.

The new plan has been dubbed “greenbelt and road” in Downing Street. A senior Conservative joked that it was Mr Johnson’s plan to get countries to “chuck China”, just as he once campaigned to chuck former prime minister Theresa May’s Chequers deal on Brexit.

The Prime Minister said: “We have a responsibility to help developing countries reap the benefits of clean growth through a fair and transparent system. The G7 has an unprecedented opportunity to drive a global green industrial revolution, with the potential to transform the way we live.”

His spokesman said the plan was “designed to ensure developing countries have a choice in finding support from fair-minded countries in line with democratic principles”.

An American official said that the West had previously failed to offer a positive alternative to the “coercive approach” of Beijing.

“This is not just about confronting or taking on China,” the official said. “Until now we haven’t offered a positive alternative that reflects our values, our standards, and our way of doing business.”

The NATO Standing Maritime Group, which includes HMS Queen Elizabeth and the UK Carrier Strike Group. Picture: Supplied

In March Mr Biden and Mr Johnson discussed developing an infrastructure scheme to rival China’s. Mr Biden has also pushed for a tougher line on China’s treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority.

World leaders used a summit session on foreign policy to agree to a joint position on how to combat China and Russia.

White House staff said the US would push the other G7 leaders for “concrete action on forced ­labour” in China and to include criticism of Beijing in their final communique.

But draft versions were said to be “tepid” after France, Germany, Japan and Italy resisted.

Soldiers assigned to the coastal missile troops with the navy under the PLA Northern Theater Command prepare anti-ship missile systems. Picture: Supplied

Mr Johnson also launched Britain’s Blue Planet Fund from the G7 summit’s ocean-side setting in Cornwall. The £500 million ($91m) fund will support countries including Ghana, Indonesia and Pacific island states to help tackle unsustainable fishing, reduce marine pollution and protect and ­restore coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs.

David Attenborough was due to address leaders overnight on the importance of action to limit global warming to 1.5C.

The G7 will endorse a nature compact to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

Mr Johnson said “Protecting our planet is the most important thing we as leaders can do for our people.”

The government will aim to build on these plans with other countries before the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November.

THE SUNDAY TIMES