Infrastructure Programme - G7 aims to mobilise $600b: Biden

US President Joe Biden yesterday announced a G7 project to rival China's formidable Belt and Road Initiative by raising some $600 billion for global infrastructure programmes in poor countries.

"Together with G7 partners, we aim to mobilise $600 billion by 2027 in global infrastructure investments," the White House said shortly ahead of a speech by Biden unveiling the proposal.

Unlike China's huge BRI initiative, the proposed G7 funding would come largely from private investors and is therefore not guaranteed.

The plan, which relaunches a first attempt unveiled during last year's G7, will target countries desperately needing everything from roads to harbours -- and until now often relying on the Chinese.

The gargantuan BRI project has successfully used Chinese infrastructure know-how to spread Beijing's economic and diplomatic tentacles into strategic points around world, leaving Western governments flat-footed.

Biden, whose presidency is centred on restoring US leadership after the isolationist policies under Donald Trump, says his version will not only catch up but provide a better alternative.

Unlike the Chinese version, reliant on state-controlled funds and companies, Biden said the US and other G7 governments will only provide limited amounts of money, while incentivising massive private sector investments.