Belt and Road

Chinese Foreign Minister Wáng Yì 王毅 with his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi on March 28, 2021. Photo via Xinhua. China is expanding its presence in the Middle East by building out critical infrastructure in the region and securing deals on…

LETTER: On Dec 3, 2021, the China-Laos railway opened to traffic, connecting Kunming in southwest China’s Yunnan province with Laos capital Vientiane. The railway is a landmark project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. In addition to the extreme construction difficulty and risks of the project...Read More

Amid demands for more jobs, exports and skills training, Beijing is helping Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to industrialise Analysts said China was focused on keeping Central Asian governments happy as the US and Russia look to increase their own power and influence in the region Read More

The EU unveiled its "Global Gateway" project this week, which is seen as a European alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). But is the EU’s €300 billion plan a serious threat to Beijing’s influence extension initiative?  Everyone wants their own Silk Road. Nearly a decade after Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed…

The European Union (EU) has revealed details of a €300bn (£255bn; $340bn) global investment plan, described as a “true alternative” to China’s Belt and Road strategy. European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said the Global Gateway scheme should become a trusted brand. China has funded rail, roads and ports…

One reason for Indonesia’s dramatic reversal might lie in the Donald Trump administration’s transactional and “America First” foreign policy, which sidelined U.S.-Indonesia relations. From Jakarta’s vantage point, it was not relevant to Washington until Pompeo publicly sought to resist China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea in October 2020.…

Published: 2:23am, 2 Dec, 2021 Updated: 3:37am, 2 Dec, 2021 Read More

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh speaks during a news conference as the last stop on his three-country Latin America tour to promote a G7's infrastructure program aimed at countering China's Belt and Road initiative in Panama City, Panama, (REUTERS) A U.S. delegation led by President Joe…

The Taliban has already expressed interest in Chinese investments and in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has pledged support and assistance to the Taliban in a meeting in Doha. Coming three months after Mr. Wang hosted the Taliban in Tianjin, near Beijing, in late…

A new study claimed that China’s Belt and Road Initiative has caused dozens of countries to accumulate $385 billion in “hidden debts” to Beijing. AidData, an international development research lab based at Virginia’s College of William & Mary, revealed that the debt had slipped through the scrutiny of international lenders…