European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was quoted as saying by BBC that the Global Gateway scheme should become a trusted brand.

Beijing in recent times has funded rail, roads and ports but has been accused of leaving some countries saddled with debt.

The EU is looking at how it can leverage billions of euros, drawn from member states, financial institutions and the private sector. This will largely take the form of guarantees or loans, rather than grants, reports BBC.

Mrs von der Leyen said the EU wanted to show that a different, democratic approach could deliver on projects that focused on tackling climate change as well as global health security and sustainable development for developing countries.

One EU official told the BBC that Africa would be a major focus of the scheme.