Will the developing world, home to billions of possible customers and enormous reserves of critical minerals necessary for defense and next-generation technology, fall under China’s spell? That’s the question before Congress as it debates reauthorizing the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, America’s primary tool to combat Beijing’s malign plans for political, economic, and military dominance of the 21st century.
Beijing has already doled out a staggering $1 trillion since 2013 to the developing world. As part of the Chinese Communist Party’s audacious Belt and Road Initiative to export ideology and lock down critical sectors and emerging markets, China now operates or owns ports and terminals on every continent and across more than 50 countries and overwhelmingly controls the supply chains of most critical minerals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
