President Biden warned on Thursday that China was outpacing the US on infrastructure investments and said Beijing will “eat our lunch” if the US doesn’t step up spending.
Biden made the comments to reporters in the Oval Office before a meeting with a group of senators about infrastructure spending. He spoke of China’s investments in high-speed rail and automobiles. “They have major, major new initiatives on rail. And they already have rail that goes 225 miles an hour with ease,” he said.
“They’re investing a lot of money, they’re investing billions of dollars and dealing with a whole range of issues that relate to transportation, the environment and a whole range of other things,” Biden said. “If we don’t get moving, they’re going to eat our lunch.”
During his presidential campaign in 2019, Biden made similar comments, although this time he was downplaying the idea that China was such a threat. “China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man,” he said.
Biden mentioned his phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping that took place Wednesday night. According to a readout of the call from the White House, Biden confronted Xi on issues in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Taiwan.
Besides domestic infrastructure, the US is threatened by Beijing’s investment in overseas infrastructure projects. The Trump administration had discouraged its allies from participating in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
President Biden seems keen to continue the hostile China policies of the Trump administration. US military activity near China’s coast has not slowed down, the National Security Council has been restructured to focus on Asia, and the Pentagon launched a task force to review the US military’s strategy towards Beijing.
Well if youd spend less time on global wars and willy waving in the South China Sea, there’d be plenty of money to fix decaying 3rd World infrastructure in America
I glance at Chinese web new every morning. I have also driven across the US in every direction several times.
The US will never catch up with China. And I have seen projections O Chinese population declining gradually to just over twice the US. Things don’t look good for the US.
Endless wars. $740 billion for the military. Billions for our spooks. A space force. Upgrading of nukes. Foreign aid.
Well, it is obvious we screwed up. The question of priorities. One cannot but wonder about the decision making that assumed US dominance of key global neurological points — trade routes, maritime routes, financial institutions, military dominance on sea, in air and on land, space.
With expectation of world singing the same ideological tune — and possibly only Russia being non-compliant. Whatever the goals were — one cannot escape the impression that the all out war footing and full court press on all fronts, from Balkans to Far East was meant to accomplish something. Something big and important.
If that investment did not bring expected results, then a recalibration is needed.
But what came out like a thunderbolt from the clear sky was a series of unexpected setbacks. Russian entry into Middle East, new generation of weapons, and a globe spanning Chinese economic initiatives. But more than that, between Russia and China there is the web of connections of countries tied by common interests, and in search of stability. Most notable examples are Iran, Turkey and Pakistan. Central Asia and all Caspian states, now including Azerbaijan — are increasingly intertwined in Eurasian integration.
It is hard to sort out just how many Chinese investments are involved in Vietnam and Thailand where some companies are relocating from China. It is win-win. China transfers its facility building and equipping expertise and equipment. Vietnam and Thailand get a fast start to scoop up relocations. Pakistan and Turkey are very interesting stories as well.
One thing is clear — US invested in a global strategy that shows all signs of a failure. Of course, there are course corrections available — but not with same people in charge,
iBut there are I am sure more clear eyed people exploring alternatives. However, with pressing domestic problems, it is not an auspicious time for strategic corrections, and will feel more comfortable to stay Trump’s course. But it cannot be for long.
Trouble is ‘enemies abroad’ (China, Russia, Iran, Qaida, …), are “fake”, just like the “news”. The real enemy is our own oligarchy, with the US Gov. its Chief Superintendent, the font and source of our ‘foreign wars’, domestic retrogression, and ecological jeopardy. That is the first enemy, Oligarchism
I guess all the food in the world is “your” lunch, eh?
I got news for you Joe: Lunch is over.
China
willis eating the US’s lunch.China’s BRI can be characterized as ‘silk roads’ — digital, health, maritime, overland and polar.
…some snippets…(there are many more) . . .
>China’s current commercial interests are being advanced via its Belt & Road Initiative, sea and land routes primarily to its west, especially Europe. It is estimated that state-backed Chinese investors state own at least 10 percent of all equity in ports in Europe, with deals inked in Greece, Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
> The final stretch of a cross-border fiber optic cable is set to be laid by China in Pakistan to create the Digital Silk Road (DSR), Nikkei Asia reports. The DSR is part of the broader Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The fiber cable will link to the Pakistan East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) submarine cable in the Arabian Sea, to service countries participating in BRI, and Europe. It is currently being laid between Pakistan’s Rawalpindi city and the port cities of Karachi and Gwadar. The PEACE [Pakistan East Africa Connecting Europe] cable will provide the shortest direct internet route between participating countries, and will drastically reduce internet data transfer speeds.
“The president warned that China could outcompete US on transportation”
. . .Could, kimosabe?
China has the largest high-speed railway in the world, with 15,500 miles of track and most major cities covered by the network.
US has no high-speed railway, but it does have Biden ordering a Pentagon expansion plan to ‘frighten China.’
History has shown that Monarchy and Communism are very good at developing and refining humanity and civility, while the USA version of democratic-republicanism, in that regard, is an abject failure. The way in which the former have been successful is by pooling resources for those particular purposes. For example we see all of the great works of art because they’re tangible, The typical american that will never see these things will see photographs of them. They don’t even have to read and many can’t anyway. But then the Civil Law developed thousands of years ago requires time devoted to learning and what that learning does is develop the senses that distinguish us from animals and show us how to live in peace harmony in a grand division of labor. What hinders that in america is what hinders it elsewhere – the lumpen proletariat – Trumpsterism – the epitome of Thomas Jefferson’s democratic-republicanism inspired by Montesquieu’s Jacobin propaganda