The United States wants to compete with China and set up an initiative comparable to the large projects financed by Beijing within the framework of the "
new silk roads
", indicated the American president Joe Biden.
Read also: China: the "new silk roads" silted up by the Covid-19
The initiative was raised during a telephone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday, Joe Biden said.
“
We talked about China and the competition it is in with the new Silk Roads
,” he said.
"
I suggested that we have, for the most part, a similar initiative from democratic states to help populations around the world who need help,
" explained the US president.
London did not mention this initiative in the record of the conversation between the two leaders, noting however that they had referred to "
significant action
" to impose sanctions against "
those who violate the human rights
" of Uyghur Muslims in the United States. Xinjiang.
Read also: Xi Jinping defends his "silk roads"
According to studies published by American and Australian institutes, rejected by Beijing, at least a million Uyghurs were interned in "camps" in Xinjiang, and some subjected to "forced labor", especially in cotton fields.
Washington believes that the repression of this Muslim minority constitutes "genocide".
The European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States have imposed coordinated sanctions against several political and economic leaders in this region of northwest China.
Beijing, which denounces interference in its "internal affairs", responded with its own sanctions against British and European personalities, as well as several foreign brands.