Nairobi, Kenya — Days after President William Ruto received a lukewarm reception at the Third Belt and Road Initiative Forum in Beijing, China, which he attended, his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, is scheduled to travel to Brussels for the EU’s Global Gateway Forum, a European investment initiative that is seen as a rival to China’s Belt and Road, which has made significant progress into Africa since its 2017 launch.
The forum will host leaders of some 20 countries next week to boost its global infrastructure plan aimed at competing with China in strategic regions.
The summit will come a week after China gathered representatives of more than 130 countries to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its global investment plan, the Belt and Road Initiative.
The Global Gateway, a €300 billion infrastructure spending plan, aims to boost EU supply chains and trade across the world.
China hinted Wednesday at linking its Belt and Road Initiative with the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy, accepting competition from a “positive perspective.”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, while detailing the outcome of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing, expressed a “willingness” to link China’s multi-trillion-dollar global infrastructure initiative with the EU’s template “to play out the advantages of both China and the West.”
China, Wang said, was willing “to view competition from a positive perspective,” the Beijing-based Global Times reported.
The summit in Brussels will centre on a number of important topics including the transition to green energy, education, essential raw commodities, transportation corridors, and digital infrastructure.
The G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment is one of the main goals of the Global Gateway Forum.
The event will offer a special chance for cooperation and idea exchange by bringing together representatives from governments around the European Union and the world, the commercial sector, civil society, financial institutions, and international organisations.
The Global Gateway policy of the European Union is an initiative that aims to link nations and regions all over the world by promoting both public and private investment in a network of transportation and supply chains, green energy, modern telecommunications, education, and research.
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