US Supports Mideast-India Mega Transit Corridor: A Daring Rebuff To China's Belt & Road Initiative?

The U.S. has reportedly signed an agreement with India, Middle Eastern countries and the European Union to connect them via a network of railways and sea routes, according to Bloomberg.

The initiative will establish an energy infrastructure to create and deliver green hydrogen to every collaborating nation. 

The U.S.-backed plan will connect Middle Eastern nations via rail networks and link India through maritime routes from provincial ports, further stretching toward Eastern Europe.

A Push Back Against China's Belt And Road Initiative?

The development comes amid China's dominance in the energy-dense region, pitting the U.S.' own initiative against the China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Since January, the U.S. has quietly held talks about the project with India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel, according to Bloomberg.  

In recent times, both the U.S. and EU have been aiming to offset President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative, a project that has pumped hundreds of billions into infrastructure development in burgeoning economies.

Some U.S. experts believe that Chinese companies and banks working on the Belt and Road projects don't follow global rules and sometimes act dishonestly.

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Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer told the Wall Street Journal that the transit corridor underpins primary geopolitical goals: to curb Beijing's influence and boost Washington's influence in the Middle East, where its global rivals Russia and China have gained ground in recent years.

"This is a game-changing regional investment," President Joe Biden said at an event announcing the plans at the sidelines of the G-20 summit in New Delhi. 

The Middle East-India Rail & Shipping Corridor In Detail

The project's span will cover a total distance of more than 3,000 miles, the Wall Street Journal reported. The corridor will be bypassed across UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, leading to more rapid transit of goods.

While Israel isn't anticipated to be a primary contributor in constructing the corridor, its position along the pathway would foster a closer relationship with Saudi Arabia.  This reportedly aligns with the White House's efforts to regularize ties between the two nations.

U.S. officials didn't specify a completion date, but Biden's senior adviser, Amos Hochstein, mentioned that the nations would convene in 60 days to deliberate on the timeline.

The proposed transit route would also enhance ties between Washington and Riyadh, which have faced tensions over matters like human rights.

Trans-African Corridor Across Copper Belt

The U.S. and the EU will also support a pan-African corridor for transport links between the Democratic Republic of Congo's Katanga zone and Zambia's renowned "Copper Belt," extending to the Lobito port in Angola, according to Bloomberg. 

The corridor is called the "Lobito Corridor."

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