January Rollout For US' First Projects To Counter China's Belt And Road

A U.S. delegation led by President Joe Biden's deputy national security adviser, Daleep Singh, identified at least 10 promising projects.

The United States plans to invest in five to 10 large infrastructure projects around the world in January as part of a broader Group of Seven initiative to counter China's Belt and Road Initiative, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.

A U.S. delegation led by President Joe Biden's deputy national security adviser, Daleep Singh, identified at least 10 promising projects in Senegal and Ghana during the latest in a series of "listening tours" last week, the official said.

Officials are meeting with government and private-sector leaders as they hunt for projects to be funded under the Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative launched by the G7 rich democracies in June. Plans could be finalized during a G7 meeting in December, the official said.

A U.S. delegation visited Ecuador, Panama and Colombia during a similar tour in early October, with another slated to visit Asia before year-end, the official said, without naming any specific Asian countries.