Dialoguepk

16 May 2020 Author: Jürgen Rüland, University of Freiburg Geopolitical competition between the United States and China is most tangible in Asia. In 2011, Washington responded to China’s growing influence in the region with its ‘Pivot to Asia’. Two years later, Beijing countered with its  Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)  — a US$1 trillion infrastructure development program connecting Asia with Europe via land, sea and the polar route. Although promoted as a way to improve regional integration and economic growth, the BRI is widely viewed as China’s grand strategy to maximise its global clout. The BRI triggered competing infrastructure schemes. In 2015, Japan launched its ‘Partnership for Quality Infrastructure’ and in 2016, ASEAN amended its Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity. Then in 2018, the United States passed the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act and the European Union released its  EU–Asia Connectivity scheme . Connectivity has become the buzzword