US President Joe Biden, along with leaders from India, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, is gearing up to unveil a collaborative infrastructure initiative during the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) summit. This strategic move is part of the United States’ broader strategy to counterbalance China’s expanding influence in the region, as reported by Axios.
The official announcement of this groundbreaking plan is expected to take place on Saturday. The central element of this initiative will be the establishment of an extensive railway network connecting the Gulf and Arab nations. Sources with inside knowledge of the discussions, who preferred to remain anonymous, have revealed that this network will also encompass maritime routes linking the region’s ports to India.
The genesis of this initiative traces back to an earlier diplomatic mission by Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security advisor, who journeyed to Saudi Arabia for high-level talks. These discussions also involved representatives from India and the UAE. Before embarking on his trip, Sullivan had alluded to the exploration of “new areas” of cooperation. Among these areas, a reliable source at the time disclosed that strategic investments in infrastructure projects, such as ports and railways, were on the agenda.
It is important to note that Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both allies of the United States, have been moving closer to China in recent times. This shift in their foreign policy can be attributed to their aspirations of forging stronger ties with rapidly growing economies in the eastern hemisphere. In a noteworthy development last month, these oil-rich Gulf nations expressed their intention to join the BRICS group of emerging market nations. This move was instigated by China’s initiative to expand the membership of the BRICS bloc. The BRICS alliance, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is actively striving to augment its global influence and counterbalance the dominance of the United States in the realms of global economy and trade, including the role of the US dollar.
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Parallel to these geopolitical maneuvers, there has been a US-supported proposal circulating among Israel and various Gulf nations. This proposal aims to expedite land-trade routes connecting Gulf Arab countries with the Mediterranean Sea. However, officials involved in these discussions have conceded that there is no fixed timeline for implementing these changes.
Over the past few years, the United States has been committed to countering China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, which has infused hundreds of billions of dollars into infrastructure projects across emerging markets. Concurrently, China has been strengthening its ties with the Middle East, playing a pivotal role in brokering a détente between regional heavyweights, Saudi Arabia and Iran, earlier this year.
In the upcoming month, Chinese President Xi Jinping is poised to host world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a summit dedicated to the Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing. This gathering underscores China’s determination to continue expanding its global influence through strategic infrastructure projects, setting the stage for an intricate geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China in the Middle East and beyond.
