When Mike Pence, US vice-president, clashed with Xi Jinping, Chinese president, at this month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Papua New Guinea, much of the attention focused on their conflicting positions on tariffs and multilateralism — and what it meant for the chances of a ceasefire in the trade war between the countries.

But the economic confrontation between Washington and Beijing was as much about levies as it was about infrastructure — in particular in developing economies, where both the US and China are trying to increase their clout and influence.

The Trump administration is desperately trying to counter the rise of investments fuelled by China’s high-profile Belt and Road Initiative, disparaging the flood of money that has poured into developing economies in recent years from Beijing.