President Xi Jinping told African leaders Monday that China's investments on the continent have "no political strings attached", pledging US$60 billion in new development financing, even as Beijing is increasingly criticised over its debt-heavy projects abroad.Xi offered the funding at the start of a two-day China-Africa summit that focused on his cherished Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The great powers of the world share one thing in common: a desire for progress and the proper execution of that particular ideal. For China, a global behemoth in its own right, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is its own vision, which has now manifested into a political, social, and economic reality.At its most basic, this gargantuan plan is an expression of China’s desire to build on trade relations with both, Asia and Europe.
Sihanoukville used to be a sleepy coastal town in south Cambodia. Its beaches were known for their quiet, cosy – albeit a little seedy – atmosphere that attracted mostly families, individual travellers, and backpackers. Aside from the on-goings of tourists and those connected with the country’s sole deep-water port, nothing much changed.
Malaysia will shelve three China-backed projects worth a total of US$22 billion until the debt-laden Southeast Asian nation can afford to pay for them, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Tuesday during a visit to Beijing.The projects include a railway connecting Malaysia's east coast to southern Thailand and Kuala Lumpur, and two gas pipelines."I explained to (the Chinese leaders) why we can't have the ECRL (East Coast Rail Link)," Mahathir told Malaysian reporters at th
Even with sketchy financial information, research academics agree that China’s island building in the Spratly archipelago is a multi-billion-dollar undertaking. Some estimates note that building up Fiery Cross island alone, with its three-kilometre runway and military facilities including missile and radar installations, have cost around US$11 billion. But this is the pointed-end of the spear, and it is only one part of China’s global expansion plans. What about their soft-power initiatives?
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is pushing back against China’s dominance in its economy, stalling billions of dollars of contracts as he tries to renegotiate them.He’s heading to China in August - specific dates haven’t been disclosed yet - to discuss those projects and try to win deals that he says should be more favourable to Malaysia.China has US$34 billion worth of infrastructure projects underway in Malaysia negotiated by the previous government of ousted leader Najib Razak, d
Thailand is seeking Chinese investment to help galvanize a five-year, 1.7 trillion-baht (US$51 billion) development plan for its eastern seaboard to bolster the economy.While political tension has shadowed Chinese investment in nations from Australia to Sri Lanka, the Thai military government views its so-called Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project as well placed to link with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
You may not have noticed, what with the outbreak of trade war with the United States (US) and all, but China’s economic diplomacy has had a bad few weeks. The country’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is dealing with ever-greater resistance, slowing a momentum that once seemed unstoppable.
China’s foreign policy exerts a certain weight in the international community, and many have, in fact, likened the country to a superpower within the Asia region. However, like superpowers of the past and present, it cannot rely on just military and economic strength alone, but must also possess considerable “soft power”, manifested in what is referred to as Beijing’s “charm offensive”.
Against the backdrop of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Southeast Asia is slowly but surely turning into a battleground for international tech companies to flex their financial muscles and impart their data-driven dominance. From Apple to Samsung, Alibaba to Uber, a plethora of other entities have made their mark in this highly robust region. It must be said that China’s influence in the area is second to none.
“I want to clearly tell everyone that China’s open doors will not close, but will only open wider,” China’s President, Xi Jinping proclaimed to rousing applause from attendees at the Boao Forum for Asia in China’s Hainan province last Tuesday. The Boao Forum, which also goes by the sobriquet, “The Davos of Asia” was attended by foreign heads of governments and industry movers and shakers from the world over, mostly from the Asian region.
This month, Sri Lanka, unable to pay the onerous debt to China it has accumulated, formally handed over its strategically located Hambantota port to the Asian giant.
