When the European Union and Japan signed an agreement on supporting "quality infrastructure" last week, no one mentioned China or its Belt and Road initiative. Then again, they didn't need to. The terms of the agreement, and the speeches of its signatories, dripped with disapproval of everything that BRI opponents fear the scheme embodies.
Concern one: "Connectivity must be sustainable in financial terms" and not create "mountains of debt," warned Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the European Commission, amid worries that the BRI puts an unmanageable burden on financially vulnerable countries.
Concern two: Juncker argued that infrastructure should create "interconnections between all countries in the world and not merely dependence on one country." The BRI, by contrast, would perpetuate China's position as the hub of global merchandise trade.