In his first trip abroad, US President Joe Biden sought to reassure allies that America
is back and engaged on the global stage. But how long will it last?
The Geneva summit with Russia President Vladimir Putin was a momentous encounter. The US has accused Russia of meddling in US elections and of harbouring cyber criminals who have attacked vital infrastructure in the US and across the world. Indeed, Biden considers Putin a worthy adversary. In contrast, Biden’s predecessor thought Putin was a genius.
At the G-7 meeting in Cornwall in the UK, Biden aimed to unify the G7 nations against a rising China. While G-7 leaders agree the threat of an increasingly confident China is real, they differ on how stiff the response should be. The US, Britain, Canada and France favour a tough stance on China but Germany, Italy and the EU are interested in a more cooperative relationship.
Japan is unable to decide one way or another.
I think three decisions of global significance came out of the G-7 meeting. The first is the pledge to deliver more than a billion vaccine doses to the developing world over the next year. The doses will be channeled through the Covax vaccine-sharing pool, prioritising countries with the greatest need. While I think one billion doses is too little, delivery over the next year is also too late. More needs to be done and on more aggressive timelines.
The second globally significant G-7 decision was the decision to levy a minimum 15 per cent corporate tax rate on multinational technology giants that make gargantuan profits, which they in turn shift to low tax havens. Hence, Google, Facebook and Amazon will now pay more tax in more countries. The third globally significant decision is to phase out coal-fired power generation and end funding for new coal-burning power plants in the developing world.
The G-7 committed to offering $2.8 billion to help developing countries shift to cleaner fuels. But Is this incentive strong enough to deter China? About 70 per cent Coal power plants build globally now rely on Chinese funding through the Belt Road Initiative.
In a more full-blooded attempt to contain China’s dominance on the global stage, Biden and the G-7 partners agreed to launch the Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative. This is billed as a values-driven, high-standard, and transparent infrastructure partnership led by major democracies to help narrow the $40 trillion infrastructure gap in developing countries.
Through B3W, the G-7 and its partners intend to mobilise private-sector capital for investment in four areas; climate, health and health security, digital technology, and gender equity and equality. The B3W initiative is presented as a counterweight to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has focused on traditional infrastructure projects such as ports, railways, highways, airports and dams.
But global development must not be a zero-sum game or the theatre for dueling world powers. Much more can and must be achieved through global cooperation and coordination.
Alex O. Awiti is Vice Provost at Aga Khan University. Views expressed are the writer’s
