Tag

Belt And Road

All articles tagged with #belt and road

Eurasia’s Overland Grid Redefines Taiwan Deterrence
world20 days ago

Eurasia’s Overland Grid Redefines Taiwan Deterrence

The piece argues that the next phase of China–U.S. competition over Taiwan will hinge on Eurasia’s continental corridors, as Beijing builds overland energy and trade routes to bypass the Strait of Malacca and increase its freedom of action. To deter Taiwan, Washington should counter with credible third-country financing (potentially reusing Trump-era investment deals) and robust diplomacy with Central Asian swing states—Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan—to complicate Beijing’s continental strategy. By injecting alternatives and resilience into China’s periphery, the U.S. can raise the cost of any Taiwan move without solely relying on maritime pressure.

Pinglu Canal: a new shortcut for China’s inland-to-sea trade to Southeast Asia
world23 days ago

Pinglu Canal: a new shortcut for China’s inland-to-sea trade to Southeast Asia

China inaugurates the Pinglu Canal, a 134-km river-to-sea link in Guangxi that cuts inland-to-sea shipping distance by about 560 km and lowers logistics costs by 18–30%, enabling 5,000-tonne vessels and connecting southwest China with Southeast Asia as part of the Belt and Road’s New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor; the project spurs a broader industrial belt near ports, with toll-free passage through 2026 and a staged fee afterward, plus a sizable resettlement program for thousands of residents.

Xi Jinping’s Egypt Visit Signals Beijing–Cairo Drive Amid Middle East Turmoil
world1 month ago

Xi Jinping’s Egypt Visit Signals Beijing–Cairo Drive Amid Middle East Turmoil

During a three-day visit, Xi Jinping aims to deepen China–Egypt economic and military ties, with deals in AI, transport and manufacturing, and to bolster Beijing’s role as a regional partner amid Middle East turmoil and shipping disruptions around the Red Sea and Hormuz. Egypt seeks diversification of its foreign policy while maintaining ties with the US; Beijing’s investment highlights Cairo’s strategic importance due to the Suez Canal and Belt and Road projects.

Xi urges SCO to advance Belt and Road and global initiatives at Bishkek summit
world1 month ago

Xi urges SCO to advance Belt and Road and global initiatives at Bishkek summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping told SCO leaders in Bishkek that China intends to use the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a key platform to advance the Belt and Road along with the Global Development Initiative and related programs on global security, civilization and governance, signaling a concerted Beijing effort to expand collaborative, high-quality international initiatives through the SCO.

Xi lays out SCO blueprint for prosperity and security at Bishkek summit
world1 month ago

Xi lays out SCO blueprint for prosperity and security at Bishkek summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping used the SCO 26th Heads of State meeting in Bishkek to present a development-first, security-focused agenda: deepen regional trade and digital/green cooperation under the Global Development Initiative, promote people-centered exchanges, expand multilateral governance and dialogue, crack down on terrorism and external interference, and reinforce the SCO’s role as a platform for peace and shared prosperity.

Xi Jinping’s Cairo visit signals deeper China-Egypt ties amid regional turmoil
world1 month ago

Xi Jinping’s Cairo visit signals deeper China-Egypt ties amid regional turmoil

Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Cairo for the first time since 2016 to reinforce the 70‑year China–Egypt partnership and push deeper economic ties, with bilateral trade near $21 billion in 2025 and growing Egyptian exports to China in early 2026; investments focus in the Suez Canal Zone under Belt and Road, while talks address GERD and Gaza amid regional turmoil and include joint air exercises to signal strategic alignment.

Xi's four-point plan to turn SCO cooperation into delivery at Bishkek
world1 month ago

Xi's four-point plan to turn SCO cooperation into delivery at Bishkek

At the Bishkek SCO summit, Xi Jinping unveiled a four-point plan—development first, security as a priority, people-centered approach, and dialogue for governance—aimed at embedding China’s Global Development, Global Security, Global Civilization, and Global Governance initiatives within the SCO, while leaders issued the Bishkek Declaration, updated the SCO Charter, and 28 outcome documents; China also announced an AI cooperation center for SCO, a China-SCO port economy center in Tianjin, and 100 joint technology projects over three years.

Glacial-Triggered Flood Destroys Gyirong Port on Nepal-China Border
world1 month ago

Glacial-Triggered Flood Destroys Gyirong Port on Nepal-China Border

A flash flood triggered by a glacial collapse swept through Gyirong Port at the Nepal–China border, wiping out a major border crossing that handles about $600 million in annual trade and leaving dozens dead with hundreds missing. Relief teams are urgently searching for survivors as debris forms a potential upstream lake, and authorities note the border post is in a flood-prone Himalayan region with past flood damage and ongoing glacier retreat.

Beijing’s Balancing Act: China’s Quiet Move to Reorder Global Influence
world8 months ago

Beijing’s Balancing Act: China’s Quiet Move to Reorder Global Influence

China blends a peaceful-rise rhetoric with pragmatic power politics, expanding influence through Belt and Road, energy partnerships, and development ties across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and beyond. It seeks to erode Western security dependence by promoting European strategic autonomy and presenting itself as a stable alternative to US leadership, while pursuing political solutions in crises like Syria. Yet its reach remains limited in sensitive regions such as the Arctic, and the broader question remains whether Beijing’s rise will yield a more pluralistic global order or sharpen competitive dynamics.

Thai crane collapse derails passenger train, leaving dozens dead
world8 months ago

Thai crane collapse derails passenger train, leaving dozens dead

A construction crane collapsed onto a Bangkok-to-Nong Khai passenger train in northeastern Thailand, derailing the three-carriage service with about 200 people aboard. At least 29 people were killed and around 67 injured (eight of them critically) as rescuers worked amid tangled wreckage and a fire in the second carriage. The crane was part of an elevated rail project tied to a Belt and Road–linked Thai-Chinese initiative. Authorities ordered an investigation and continued rescue operations.

Xi Jinping's Plan to Unite and Develop Central Asia with China's Help
politics3 years ago

Xi Jinping's Plan to Unite and Develop Central Asia with China's Help

Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed leaders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan at the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, emphasizing the need to safeguard the security, independence, and territorial integrity of the region. He also expressed China's willingness to help its "brethren" in Central Asia to unite and support its Belt and Road plan. The Central Asian countries expressed their support for Chinese engagement in the region.

China's Belt and Road Bailout: Billions Spent on Loan Relief.
finance3 years ago

China's Belt and Road Bailout: Billions Spent on Loan Relief.

China has spent $240 billion bailing out 22 countries, mostly Belt and Road project debtors, between 2008 and 2021, according to a study by researchers from the World Bank, Harvard Kennedy School, Kiel Institute for the World Economy and the US-based research lab AidData. Most of the loans were made in the last five years of the study, from 2016 to 2021. The PBOC requires an interest rate of 5%, compared to 2% for IMF rescue loans, and most of the loans are extended to middle-income countries considered more important to China’s banking sector.

China's Belt and Road Initiative: From Lending to Bailing Out.
finance3 years ago

China's Belt and Road Initiative: From Lending to Bailing Out.

China spent $240 billion bailing out 22 developing countries between 2008 and 2021, with the amount soaring in recent years as more have struggled to repay loans spent building "Belt & Road" infrastructure, according to a study. Almost 80% of the rescue lending was made between 2016 and 2021, mainly to middle-income countries including Argentina, Mongolia and Pakistan. China's rescue lending is "opaque and uncoordinated," said Brad Parks, one of the report's authors, and director of AidData.