B3W Initiative
At the annual G7 Summit in June 2021, President Joe Biden successfully rallied support from G7 leaders for his Bring Back Better World (B3W) initiative. G7 is an organisation comprising leaders of some of the world’s most powerful economies. They include the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan. The leaders of G7 meet once a year to address pressing issues of the world and discuss coordinated government policies. To learn more about G7, you may sign up for economics tuition Singapore with a reputable economics tutor Singapore.
Bring Back Better World Initiative
The B3W initiative requires cooperative efforts by G7 members to meet the infrastructure needs of low and middle income countries across the globe. Each G7 member will be given different geographic orientations such as Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Indo-Pacifichttps://www.economicscafe.com.sg/. A total of US$40 trillion will be committed towards “values driven, high standard, transparent and sustainable” infrastructure projects to help the developing countries. It will focus on four key areas: climate, digital technology, health and health security, as well as gender equity and equality. The initiative will be financed through both public and private funding and a taskforce will be set up to coordinate the efforts among G7 members. With guidance from your economics tutor Singapore in your economics tuition Singapore class, discuss the key factors to ensure B3W’s success. Mr Edmund Quek is an economics tutor Singapore best known for his ability to incorporate real world events into his economics tuition Singapore. You may visit his website www.economicscafe.com.sg to find out more about this economics tutor Singapore.
Further details have yet to be confirmed, including among others, the respective share of funding for each G7 member to fork out and the timeline. Though the need to increase private capital has been emphasised, there are no concrete plans on how to mobilise private funding support for this new initiative. You may consult your economics tutor Singapore in economics tuition Singapore about other critical details of such an initiative.
Competing With China’s Belt And Road Initiative
Biden’s new B3W initiative bears a certain degree of resemblance to China’ Belt and Road initiative which also aims to meet developing countries’ infrastructural needs. Some experts believe that the B3W initiative is G7’s effort to counter China’s Belt and Road initiative. You may approach your economics tutor Singapore in your economics tuition Singapore class for a detailed comparison between China’s Belt and Road initiative and G7’s B3W initiative. However, given it is a new initiative which may take a few years to crystalise, it is challenging for G7 to match China’s speed to engage the developing world. Some also cast doubts on G7’s commitment to developing countries’ infrastructural needs and their ability to effectively coordinate funding support among themselves. In consultation with your economics tutor Singapore in economics tuition Singapore, explain why it may be difficult for G7 members to effectively coordinate their funding support for B3W.
To date, over 100 countries have hopped on the bandwagon of China’s Belt and Road initiative, with over 2,600 projects worth a total of US$3.7 trillion. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, some 20 per cent of the projects have been delayed. Some of the developing countries also have plans to review, reduce or revoke their commitment over cost or sovereignty concerns. For example, Australia, one of the allies of G7 members has revoked its Belt and Road agreement with China. Others who share the same concern about China’s growing influence in the region may choose to stay put for the time being, waiting to see what G7 has to offer. Developing countries such as Indonesia expressed their keen interest in working with G7 while others such as Bangladesh vowed their steadfast commitment to China’s Belt and Road initiative.
Linda Geng
Economics Tuition Singapore @ Economics Cafe
Principal Economics Tutor: Mr. Edmund Quek