On September 21, Wisconsin Rep. Scott Fitzgerald introduced the "Thwarting Regional Adversary Investments Now (TRAIN) Act," which is the fourth in a series of bills introduced by him aimed at countering Chinese Communist Party aggression. Fitzgerald's bill seeks to provide training and protection to non-adversarial government officials in South and Central Asia against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) predatory lending practices through its Belt & Road Initiative (BRI).
In a press release, Fitzgerald stated, "We must push back on the CCP's BRI with every tool available. I intro'd a bill today to do exactly that. My bill helps train non-adversarial gov't officials in South & Central Asia to tackle the risks of the CCP's predatory lending & investment practices."
The "Thwarting Regional Adversary Investments Now (TRAIN) Act" was crafted following recommendations from the U.S. China Commission and includes provisions for annual reporting to Congress on new lending or legal agreements signed by Central and South Asian nations. The bill aims to safeguard countries targeted by China's predatory loans and investments by starting a dialogue to assess and mitigate associated risks.
Fitzgerald highlighted the negative impact of the Belt & Road Initiative on recipient countries, as well as the burden it places on the United States and other development finance partners in the form of debt relief. He said, "The Belt & Road Initiative has been used by the CCP to exert control through the buildup of unsustainable debt in many countries across Central and South Asia. Not only is this an unfortunate situation for recipient countries, but this burden is often passed along to the United States and other development finance partners in the form of debt relief. My hope is that this bill will better safeguard countries targeted by China’s predatory loans and investments by starting a dialogue to assess and mitigate the associated risks."
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, is viewed as a complex challenge to various aspects, including the U.S. economy, climate change efforts, and security. The initiative involves financing and construction of a diverse set of global infrastructure projects, such as power plants, railways, highways, ports, telecommunications networks, and smart cities, by Chinese banks.
Fitzgerald's "Thwarting Regional Adversary Investments Now (TRAIN) Act" aims to address the risks and challenges posed by the Belt & Road Initiative and protect the interests of countries in South and Central Asia.
