Sec. 254. Response to the People's Republic of China’s Belt and Road Initiative
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/bill/116/s/4629/is/section-254·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The President shall work with European counterparts to establish a formal United States-European Commission Working Group to develop a comprehensive strategy to respond to the Belt and Road Initiative
(BRI)established by the Government of China. The United States participants in the proposed working group shall seek to integrate existing efforts into the strategy, including— the European Union Strategy on Connecting Europe and Asia; the Three Seas Initiative; the Blue Dot Network among the United States, Japan, and Australia; a European Union-Japan initiative that has leveraged $65,000,000,000 for infrastructure projects and emphasizes transparency standards; and efforts to address the Government of China’s use of the United Nations to advance BRI, including the proliferation of memoranda of understanding between the People's Republic of China and United Nations funds and programs on BRI implementation. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to co-finance infrastructure projects that could otherwise be included within China’s Belt and Road Initiative, provided that— the United States can leverage existing and future projects that have entered into contracts with the Belt and Road Initiative to further promote transparency and debt sustainability; and the projects promote the public good. The United States shall work with the European Union to also leverage financing from the private sector for such projects. The United States and the European Union should coordinate and develop— a set of transparency, environmental, and social standards for all infrastructure projects that are executed by foreign firms on United States or European soil; and a strategy to enhance transatlantic cooperation with the OECD and the Paris Club on ensuring the highest possible standards for Belt and Road Initiative contracts and terms with developing countries.