B3W:America’s‘Make The World Great Again’Fantasy

By Josef Gregory Mahoney

The recent Group of Seven （G7） lead- ers meeting in the UK announced support for a new U.S.-led effort called Build Back Better World （B3W）， a global infrastructure plan to challenge Chinas Belt and Road Initiative. While details remain vague and support within the G7 tepid at best， this announcement has caused a big splash in global discussions， particularly its offer “to help narrow the $40+ trillion infrastructure need in the developing world.”

Political contexts

After former U.S. President Donald Trumps obsessive fixation on China， in which the Chinese Government figured increasingly as the villain in his “Make America Great Again” fantasyland， there was hope President Joe Biden would find a way to reverse course. Because Trump poisoned American opinion on China to such incredible levels， including resorting to Cold War hyperboles to hype a non-existent China threat， it was always going to be difficult for Biden to pick up the pieces and move forward in pragmatic and constructive ways.

Indeed， many expected him to pander to China hawks in Congress to sweeten support for his domestic agenda， and likewise to protect his political flank in public discourse should Trump， former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo or his own generals criticize him for being soft on China. Nevertheless， many expected him to find a way to stabilize the relationship， unwind the trade war， and find a new normal with a soft-reset in relations. That hope is flickering now； perhaps it was always far-fetched.

In fact， the U.S. has pursued successive， escalating containment strategies against China since at least 1999， each one failing， and by all indications， now its Bidens turn to do the same. American leaders， many American voters and even some American allies appear unable to envision a world where the U.S. is not the sole superpower， and doing whatever possible to ensure American power remains supreme， as U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer described the purpose of a new China-targeted legislation ahead of the G7 summit.

And yet， few of Americas friends in the G7 seemed truly enthusiastic about the proposal. Japan is treading carefully. France asked why not reform the existing global system， making it more equitable？ Germany and Italy are hesitating： Despite not always agreeing with Beijing on a number of issues， both countries also have resisted American efforts to target China. Plus， Berlin will see new leadership in September， possibly Greens， who are even less likely to support this kind of project.