China hands out at least twice as much development money as the United States (US) and other major powers, new evidence shows, with most of it coming in the form of risky high-interest loans from Chinese state banks.The sheer amount of Chinese lending is startling.
Rapid economic development over the past two decades has transformed the Southeast Asian region to the point where it is able to participate in international production networks which allows more exports of manufactured products, textiles and other primary high-quality valued-added products.
In retrospect, the decision by the Communist Party of China (CPC) to impose a new security law on Hong Kong seems to have been preordained. Historically, rising powers always try to expand their spheres of geopolitical influence once they pass a certain stage of economic development.
As of 16 March 2020, over 100,000 people have been infected with the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. Globally, more than 6,000 deaths have been recorded. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared it a pandemic, which has resulted in lockdowns of countries and cities such as Italy and Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
The United States (US) Department of Homeland Security has fined several companies for evading President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports from China by rerouting them through Cambodia’s Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ).
