MacroscopeInfrastructure battle between global powers is a waste of money and resources

From the US’ Build Back Better to the EU’s Global Gateway, the world’s major powers are gearing up to compete with China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Yet such rivalry is both petty and irresponsible when what is really needed is global cooperation

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The competition for global influence through infrastructure investment, led by China and the US, is reminiscent of the “Great Game” of the 19th century. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 1:30am, 27 Dec 2021

Have you heard about the new board game called “Infradig” – its name taken from an informal English term denoting an unworthy or demeaning action – in which players assume a Chinese, US, European, British, Japanese or Australian identity and try to out-compete each other in building up global infrastructure empires?

The object of the game is to outdo your opponents by bidding on highway, port and other transport projects or on digital networks in each others’ territories using sly financial tactics and by criticising your rivals whenever you can to undermine their credibility.

Infradig should prove to be an international bestseller and those who wish to become expert players have only to watch and learn from real life as the world’s major powers join battle across Eurasia, the Americas, Africa and beyond to “do each other down” while building up their own positions.

Players can form “alliances” with others to get one up on a common opponent and generally make up the rules as they go along to shut out those who play by different rules. It’s all jolly good fun – as long as you ignore the fact that Infradig is a proxy war for real-world battles.

Actually, the board game doesn’t exist (yet) but as someone who has followed global infrastructure developments for many years (and published a book on the subject), I see parallels with the 19th century “Great Game” in which rival powers fought for strategic superiority in Eurasia.

Britain was, of course, one of the main proponents in the Great Game, as it is again now with its plan to relaunch the Commonwealth Development Corporation, which is being renamed British International Investment, as a national champion to compete in overseas infrastructure markets.