The G-7 initiative to\u00a0counter Beijing\u2019s infrastructure diplomacy can\u2019t end up as a bridge to nowhere. Here\u2019s what it should look like.<\/b>
\nThere\u2019s good reason to be skeptical about U.S. President Joe Biden\u2019s plan for an alternative to China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative, the infrastructure-building bonanza that Beijing uses to expand its global clout. Sure, the Group of Seven nations committed to the idea last month, calling it \u201cBuild Back Better World,\u201d or B3W. But that\u2019s no more than a start. Success will require a focused program outlining what to build, how to pay for it, and how to convince needy nations to sign up. Unfortunately, such details are in short supply. Fiscally stretched by Covid-19 outlays, the advanced economies can barely afford needed infrastructure at home, let alone splurge on roads, bridges and telecom networks in the far corners of the earth. Even the Chinese have been scaling back lending to developing countries in recent years, possibly a result of deleveraging pressure at home and too many troubled loans abroad. It\u2019s tempting for the West to hope that Belt and Road runs out of highway entirely on its own.<\/p>\n