Observatory News, at the 2023 New Delhi G20 summit, under the leadership of the then Biden administration in the United States, the U.S. jointly with India, Saudi Arabia, and the European Union announced the construction of the India-Europe Economic Corridor. At that time, all parties were full of confidence and expected this to be a game-changing initiative.

According to the concept involved, the project aims to transport Indian goods through maritime and rail routes, passing through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel, finally reaching Europe, forming a new transcontinental artery.

But two years have passed, and few people remember this initiative anymore.

The current situation is that the project has no funding to start, no railway construction has begun, and even port expansion remains at the discussion stage.

Compared with the efficiency of China's "Belt and Road" initiative, this copycat "Belt and Road" project, the India-Europe Economic Corridor, couldn't even copy the homework properly, just copied an interconnected narrative, and that was it.

Biden and Modi

In fact, during the Biden era, the U.S. didn't just copy one "Belt and Road" project.

In 2022, the Biden administration launched what was called the Lobito Corridor at the G7 summit, supported by the U.S., EU, and Japan, planning to transport copper and cobalt from the Copperbelt Province of Zambia, through the southeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the Lobito Port in Angola, directly transporting minerals from Central Africa to the Atlantic seaport.

At the time, the U.S. emphasized that this corridor would be a "transparent, fair, and green" development cooperation, aiming to help African countries reduce their reliance on Chinese ports.

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation announced its commitment to provide financing guarantees, while the EU and the African Development Bank also pledged to cooperate.

According to the plan, once this railway is completed, the minerals from Zambia and the DRC could be directly exported by sea, without relying on Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania or Durban Port in South Africa.

However, after several years, the situation is not optimistic.

Although part of the railway in Angola has been partially restored, there are frequent risks in the section within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the railway restoration is extremely difficult.

Moreover, the funds have not arrived yet, international contractors have not been determined, and even basic construction plans have been repeatedly delayed, remaining essentially in the PPT phase overall.

African project site

Why does the U.S., which has ready-made homework to copy, still fail to make it work?

The problem is not with the concept, but with the system and logic.

Behind China's "Belt and Road" initiative lies a complete system, and even if the return period of the project is long, it can be pushed as a national strategy.

While the U.S. is completely different, it relies on market logic, and the government can only provide loan guarantees and political backing, while the real money comes from private companies and financial institutions.

The problem is that cross-border railways and ports often take decades, with high risks and low returns, making U.S. capital unwilling to get involved.

Additionally, the U.S. domestic infrastructure level has already fallen behind, high-speed rail is still not built, bridges are old and deteriorating, and public transportation lags far behind Europe and East Asia.

A country like this trying to build cross-border railways in Africa and the Middle East is pure fantasy.

The U.S. is accustomed to maintaining hegemony through military, sanctions, and finance, which may be effective for some countries in the short term, but cannot respond to the most realistic demands of developing countries - building roads, bridges, and electricity.

Therefore, when the U.S. tried to directly copy the homework, it ended up failing, showing the world the U.S.'s inability.

Chinese and American flags

Nevertheless, the U.S. continuously copying homework at least proves one thing: China's "Belt and Road" initiative is indeed significant.

It brings real employment, infrastructure, and economic development opportunities, more practical than abstract values diplomacy.

Therefore, the proposal of the India-Europe Corridor and the Lobito Corridor essentially represents an acknowledgment of the Chinese model, indicating that the U.S. recognizes the Chinese model as an effective competitive approach.

But acknowledging doesn't mean truly understanding it, nor does it mean being able to do it themselves. The U.S. hopes to take a shortcut, but ends up falling into a deep pit.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7549816670945051176/

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