The EU's Global Gateway initiative has been in place for more than two years. Europe held its first Global Gateway Forum at the end of October, with leaders, government representatives, and ministers from over 20 southern countries attending the meeting. China, India, and other countries are implementing their respective strategic development plans to compete globally. The changes in the Middle East situation and the uncertainty of the international situation make the development plans advocated by all parties full of uncertainties.
Not long ago, Beijing was celebrating the tenth anniversary of the implementation of the the Belt and Road national strategy, and held the the Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum. Although the EU has not explicitly proposed that the global portal can be used as an alternative to the the Belt and Road, the initiative proposed that there are many overlaps between the strengthening of raw materials, green energy, sustainable infrastructure construction in southern countries and the areas involved in the the Belt and Road in China.
In addition, at the G20 Summit held in New Delhi in September, the United States, India, Saudi Arabia and other countries signed a memorandum of understanding on the "India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor" (IMEC), marking the launch of the strategy of the Indo European Economic Corridor. India's proposed strategy includes cross-border railway construction plans aimed at improving logistics efficiency. This strategy proposed by India is also known as the "New Spice Road", which aims to compete with China's modern version of the Silk Road - the the Belt and Road.
The situation in the Middle East is variable
After Hamas militants attacked Israel, Israel launched a comprehensive offensive against the Gaza Strip, and the tension in the Middle East has attracted attention from the United States, the European Union, and China. The relationship between Israel and Arab countries has begun to deteriorate. Saudi Arabia and Israel, both allies of the United States, have started secret intelligence exchanges in recent years in response to their common rival Iran, and both sides are interested in establishing diplomatic relations. Since the outbreak of the Gaza War, Saudi Arabia has shelved negotiations to normalize relations with Israel.
The "India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor" program proposed by New Delhi has aroused the interest of many countries, and Italy, which intends to withdraw from the the Belt and Road, has joined this program. This plan includes two corridors, the India to Arabian Gulf Corridor and the Arabian Gulf to Europe Corridor. The proposed corridor construction will accelerate the connection between India, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel.
Alicia Garc í a-Herrero, chief economist in Asia Pacific region of Natixis, a French foreign trade bank, questioned the feasibility of the "India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor" (IMEC). She believed that IMEC is difficult to be an alternative to the the Belt and Road at this stage because it is a difficult route. Second, the route does not pass through densely populated areas and lacks aspects for private investment, This is also a problem faced by the the Belt and Road in the past. In the past, railways were not considered efficient investments, but now they are more efficient because they are built by state-owned enterprises without budget constraints.
Aisia stated: This is indeed the planned economy, and I don't think this corridor is comparable. I believe that the resources and discussions needed by the private economy go beyond what the United States and Europe can provide. If placed in the context of the high-level summit between Europe and the United States in October, there are many differences, so I don't think this will happen. Additionally, Europe has its own global gateway, which is also competition. Therefore, for these reasons, at this juncture, this It's a dream, not a reality
At present, China's the Belt and Road layout has begun to take shape. The planned multinational ports along the the Belt and Road have been managed by Chinese companies, and some shares of Genoa Port in Italy and Hamburg Port in Germany are held by Chinese companies. According to a report from the European Union, Chinese companies have invested 9.1 billion euros to acquire or hold equity in 24 European ports, some of which are also under the planning of the "India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor".
This plan is facing challenges from the situation in the Middle East, with Israel's Haifa Port and the railway crossing Saudi Arabia being planned. It is not easy to connect this trade route in the current situation.
Italy is planning to develop its own African strategy while embracing the "India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor" (IMEC). Considering the security issues brought about by the situation in the Middle East, Italy has postponed the Italy Africa Summit originally scheduled for November to January next year. The Meloni government is brewing a "Matthew Plan" aimed at strengthening cooperation with African energy and immigration, named after Enrico Mattei, the first chairman of the Italian National Hydrogen Carbide Company (ENI).
Visiting Professor at LUISS Guido Carli in Rome Francesco Galietti, founder of Policy Sonar, a policy risk consulting firm, said: "Italy has two pointed strategies, one is the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) The other is the upcoming Matthew Plan, which has not been disclosed yet, but we can infer that it will have good relations with African countries, as Enrico Matthew, the founder of the National Hydrogen Carbide Company, did in the 1950s. But we need to reassess IMEC in the coming months, of course, because Hamas attacked Israel. Causing a slowdown in the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel will clearly have an overall impact on the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor, with Italy being one of them
Matteo Angioli, Secretary General of the Global Committee for the Rule of Law, Marco Pannella, stated that Italy values its relations with Africa. The Meloni government does not simply develop a Marshall Plan to provide funding and professionals to Africa, but rather hopes to establish an economic strategy.
Angeli stated: I think it is important to maintain the overall global strategic view, which means supporting members at the European and Atlantic levels and establishing long-term relationships with African countries, not only including economic and sustainable development, but also social and democratic sustainability. This is how you need to confront terrorism, hostile competitors, such as China's strategic competitors. Of course, they may be partners, but they are indeed strategic competitors The gravity is evident in Africa
The scale of this year's the Belt and Road Summit is smaller than that of the previous one, and the number of foreign leaders participating in the summit is lower than that of the previous one.  
Against the background of intensified competition between the United States and China and the EU's view of China as an institutional competitor, Europe is full of more and more doubts about China's the Belt and Road initiative. With the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Eastern European countries involved in the the Belt and Road began to alienate Russia and China. Italy, as a member of the Group of Seven, intended to withdraw from the the Belt and Road, which was considered a major setback in the strategic development of the the Belt and Road.
China's the Belt and Road Initiative has brought a heavy debt burden to Asian and African countries participating in large-scale infrastructure projects, making it increasingly difficult to sustain financially. China has issued a large number of loans through state-owned policy banks, deepening the dependence of signatory countries on China. In addition to controlling the infrastructure of investment locations, China also attaches special importance to improving various "soft power". The World Bank estimates that about 60% of bank loans along the the Belt and Road involve countries with financial difficulties.
In terms of the international situation, China's "strategic ambiguity" in Ukraine and the Middle East is being challenged. Israel and surrounding Arab countries have all participated in China's the Belt and Road project, and Israel has maintained good relations with China for a long time. China is deeply involved in Israel's infrastructure projects. A large number of Chinese workers work in Israel. The Israeli Tel Aviv Light Rail Project contracted by China Railway is China's the Belt and Road project. The new port of Ashdod is contracted by a Chinese company. The Chinese state-owned enterprise Shanghai Port Group has obtained the right to operate Israel's Haifa Port for 25 years.
The current situation in the Middle East has challenged bilateral relations between Israel and China, and there have been incidents of attacks on Israeli embassy staff in Beijing. Chinese workers have been killed in the Hamas attack in Israel, and the Chinese authorities have confirmed this news but have always maintained a low-key attitude.
Faced with the dilemma of the development of the the Belt and Road, the Chinese authorities are changing their thinking, saying that in the future, the the Belt and Road project will develop in the direction of "small and beautiful", increasing investment in digital, biomedical, environmental protection, science and technology, and the "small and beautiful" plan is showing an increasing trend.
Global portal progress unknown
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, put forward the "Global Gateway" initiative in 2021. Two years after the initiative was put forward, the EU held the first summit, which is still smaller than the the Belt and Road Summit in Beijing. About 140 countries sent representatives to attend the summit. The current Italian government did not send representatives to Beijing to attend the meeting, only former Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema attended.
In his opening speech at the Global Gateway Summit, von der Leyen said that the EU is committed to seeking high-quality investment, and the Global Gateway is a better option for financing and building clean infrastructure.
The EU hopes to invest 300 billion euros by 2027, with priority projects mainly focused on renewable energy, digital transformation, and sustainable development. Only a portion of the funding comes from the EU, and the EU encourages private investors to participate in the projects. At present, China has invested about one trillion dollars in the the Belt and Road Initiative.
The implementation of global portal projects may also face issues with internal coordination within EU member states, and some observers doubt whether the EU can offer more favorable conditions than China.
According to Radio Free Europe, an unnamed EU official stated that a global portal is a good idea, but in the end, old funds will be repackaged and divided into 10 or more investment portfolios, rather than a large pool of funds. The official thought that the global portal would be a competitor of the the Belt and Road, but they would not say it clearly, because it would make some countries cut off projects, which seemed to be attached with conditions.
The EU's global portal program places great emphasis on investment in industries such as education, healthcare, digital transformation, and renewable energy. While investing, the EU often requires partner countries to meet social and ecological standards, which has also criticized the EU. Critics believe that the EU imposes its own values on others, which belongs to "neocolonialism".
On the contrary, China's the Belt and Road projects do not have social and environmental requirements attached, which makes China's projects more popular with local governments in many cases.