Biden says he suggested UK PM Johnson a plan to rival China's Belt and Road Initiative

US President Joe Biden said he had suggested to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that democratic countries should have "an infrastructure plan" to rival China’s Belt and Road initiative. He gave this advice via a phone call on Friday.

“I suggested we should have, essentially, a similar initiative, pulling from the democratic states, helping those communities around the world that, in fact, need help,” Biden told reporters on Friday.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure scheme launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping involving development and investment initiatives that would stretch from East Asia to Europe.

The project would significantly expand China’s economic and political influence, raising concerns in the United States and elsewhere.

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Biden’s remarks came after he said on Thursday he would prevent China from passing the United States to become the most powerful country in the world, vowing to invest heavily to ensure America prevails in the ever-growing rivalry between the world’s two largest economies.

Biden plans to unveil a multitrillion-dollar plan to upgrade US infrastructure next week. He said on Thursday this would ensure increased US investment in promising new technologies, such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

Over 100 countries have signed agreements with China to cooperate in BRI projects like railways, ports, highways and other infrastructure. However, China said last year that about 20% of BRI projects had been “seriously affected” by the coronavirus pandemic.