China’s infrastructure funding promises to Southeast Asia are falling short by more than $50 billion, according to a new report, with megaprojects undertaken under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) stagnating or failing due to poor planning, the global clean energy transition, and political lurches in recipient countries. The report, released today by Sydney’s Lowy … Read more
When it comes to Central Asia, one of the hottest topics among Western policymakers and scholars alike is China’s engagement in the region, especially since the 2013 launch of the Belt and Road Initiative. In a recent quantitative analysis of Chinese scholarship on Central Asia, Frank Maracchione and Bradley Jardine tackled some prominent assumptions in … Read more
Since President Xi Jinping’s announcement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, China has invested over $1 trillion in thousands of projects around the world. This has addressed some of the projected infrastructure investment gap in the Global South; however, it has also sparked significant geopolitical and geoeconomic competition between China and the … Read more
Conceived and planned a decade ago under a near billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) loan by the Export-Import Bank of China, and built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), the Bar-Boljare highway was supposed to represent a transformative connection between the Adriatic Sea and Belgrade, bolstering trade, connectivity and tourism for … Read more
Chinese President Xi Jinping chose to visit Central Asia in the fall of 2022 for his first official trip abroad since the pandemic. A year later he hosted all five Central Asian leaders at a summit in Xi’an, China, reinforcing the sense of deepening relations between China and the region. In addition, Beijing marked the … Read more
Through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has sought to play a leading role in assisting developing countries to achieve their development goals by helping them bridge their infrastructure gaps, which is estimated at $1.5 trillion. However, to date, the BRI has seen mixed results. On the one hand, it has stimulated economic growth; … Read more
The flare-up of the Israel-Palestine conflict following the attacks on October 7 has triggered geopolitical tremors in the Middle East. While Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day “pause” in fighting and the partial release of hostages, the Israeli government has vowed that fighting will resume. Amid the current fog of war, where the … Read more
When China convened the Third Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing last month, Southeast Asia featured prominently in the list of outcomes that Beijing announced on its trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as it marked its first decade. While this suggests that Southeast Asia will continue to play an important role in the … Read more
Advertisement During the last 10 years, Beijing hosted three Belt and Road Forums (BRFs) in an attempt to sell a worldwide dream based on the mythical appeal of the Silk Road narrative: the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). While initially the forum was meant to transform Beijing into a center of attention of world diplomacy … Read more
Screens show Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez as he speaks during the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, Oct. 18, 2023. Credit: Casa Rosada Advertisement While China hosted a multitude of partners at the Belt and Road Forum this week in Beijing, many of us in Western capitals are pouring over a decade of … Read more