Entries tagged "OBOR"

  • World Bank Head Pushes China Transparency | June 12, 2019, 9:25 a.m.

    Newly seated World Bank President David Malpass says the multilateral organization is working hard to ensure Beijing improves transparency in lending to countries involved in its Belt and Road Initiative, Nikkei reports.

  • Assessing the Risks of Chinese Investments in Sub-Saharan African Ports | June 5, 2019, 4:56 p.m.

    Chinese investments in sub-Saharan African ports present potential threats to U.S. influence in sub-Saharan Africa as well as African sovereignty. The CSIS Africa program report indicates where Beijing is making a bigger bet on a port’s potential and reveals which ports are more susceptible to Chinese influence and control.

  • Five myths about China’s Belt and Road Initiative | May 31, 2019, 12:41 p.m.

    Critics of China's Belt and Road Initiative caution that the project stokes corruption, harms the environment, creates financial dependencies and extends Chinese military power. Writing for The Washington Post, Jonathan Hillman tackles five myths that have been fueled by the ambiguity of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.

  • US-China Rivalry Boosts SE Asia Infrastructure | May 29, 2019, 9:16 a.m.

    Cambodia and other nations across Southeast Asia are emerging as vital staging grounds for a new form of power struggle between China and its rivals. The growth of Beijing's vast Belt and Road Initiative since 2013 has galvanized the U.S. and its allies -- including Japan, India and Australia -- and prompted them to draw up infrastructure and security programs of their own, writes Gwen Robinson for the Nikkei Asian Review

  • China's Evolving Energy Ambitions | May 23, 2019, 1:01 p.m.

    Jonathan Hillman joins Jane Nakano and Nikos Tsafos for the CSIS Energy and National Security Program's Energy 360° Podcast to look at the importance of energy projects in the BRI, changing expectations from BRI partners, and what defines a successful BRI.

  • Beijing Shoulders BRI Debt | May 23, 2019, 9:34 a.m.

    Belt and Road recipients are pushing to re-negotiate loan terms with Chinese banks, potentially shifting more of the BRI's financial burden on Beijing. As China's investments grow in Belt and Road countries, it risks losing its bargaining power as its sunk costs rise, reports Nikkei.

  • China Sees Greece as BRI Ally | May 17, 2019, 9:22 a.m.

    Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Greek President Prokopios Pavlopoulos, calling on Greece to help promote the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Europe. Beijing is seeking support for BRI from within the European Union as Europe's trade and investment relations with China expand, reports Nikkei.

  • China Repairs BRI Partnerships | May 13, 2019, 9:10 a.m.

    Beijing is striking a conciliatory tone abroad to repair ties with Belt and Road partners, particularly in Southeast Asia where negotiations with Chinese companies over halted infrastructure projects are restarting, Nikkei reports.

  • Italy, China’s Latest Gateway to Europe | May 7, 2019, 9:03 a.m.

    The signing of an MoU during a March 22-24 by Chinese president Xi Jinping has made Italy the first G7 nation to join China's sprawling Belt and Road Initiative, but Rome will be wise to devote sustained long-term resources to the negotiation, implementation, and follow-up of whatever comes out of these memoranda to avoid the mistakes of other BRI partners.

  • ADB to Limit China Funding | May 3, 2019, 9:06 a.m.

    The Asian Development Bank's President, Takehiko Nakao, has said the ADB is limiting the amount of funding it provides to China. Nakao noted that China is "becoming a country that can raise money by issuing its own debt" through projects such as the Belt and Road Initative, reports the Nikkei Asian Review

  • Thailand Pushes China-Funded Rail | May 2, 2019, 9:09 a.m.

    Thailand's prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Laos and China to accelerate the construction of a much delayed high-speed rail line between northeast Thailand and Vientiane in Laos, reports Nikkei.

  • View All Analysis | May 1, 2019, 11:52 a.m.

    Browse our analysis section for news and articles on topics such as China's Belt and Road Initiative (OBOR), the Competing Visions of Japan, India, and other regional powers, and the stakes for U.S. policy.

  • Charting Progress in China’s Belt and Road Initiative | May 1, 2019, 9:34 a.m.

    This episode of the ChinaPower podcast discusses the Belt and Road Initiative's current projects and financing, including recent backlash and scrutiny from partner countries, as well as the approach the U.S. is taking toward the initiative in the lead-up to the second Belt and Road Forum.

  • Experts: China's BRI Requires Global Norms | May 1, 2019, 9:19 a.m.

    If China's push to build a massive, continent-spanning economic zone is to yield true benefits for all involved, Beijing must shift its policy course and embrace internationally accepted norms for the BRI, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • The Give-and-Take of BRI in Africa | May 1, 2019, 8:53 a.m.

    China’s hostile economic practices, military expansion, and coercive political and ideological tactics in Africa should not be ignored. However, establishing a clear distinction between detrimental and essential BRI engagement is crucial to fostering development, building common ground with China, and expanding the global market.

  • China Constructs Debt-Free Road in Cambodia | April 30, 2019, 9:17 a.m.

    A Chinese state construction company is building Cambodia's first expressway which will connect Phnom Penh with the southern coastal city of Sihanoukville. China Road and Bridge Corp. will finance the nearly $2 billion project in an arrangement meant to help China avoid international accusations of predatory lending to developing countries, reports Nikkei.

  • A Road by Any Other Name | April 29, 2019, 12:38 p.m.

    China's Belt and Road (BRI) has taken a beating, but its central feature of big infrastructure projects will remain recognizable for years to come.

  • China Looks West for BRI Partners | April 29, 2019, 9:08 a.m.

    China announced on Saturday that two more non-Asian nations, Switzerland and Peru, have signed on to its Belt and Road Initiative. As Asian Belt and Road participants view with initiative with increasing skepticism, China is looking elsewhere for supportive partners, reports Nikkei.

  • Xi Pledges Belt and Road Reboot | April 26, 2019, 9:09 a.m.

    Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to reboot his country's flagship Belt and Road Initiative during the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. Xi called for "zero tolerance" of corruption and said China would ensure more transparency for the initiative, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Italy Commits to Japan's Infrastructure Principles | April 25, 2019, 9:13 a.m.

    Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Italian PM Giuseppe Conte agreed to uphold Japan's four conditions for high-quality infrastructure during a bilateral summit in Rome. Italy recently signed on to China's Belt and Road Initiative, sparking concerns the country would fall prey to "debt-trap diplomacy," reports Nikkei.

  • China’s Second Belt and Road Forum | April 24, 2019, 3:48 p.m.

    Xi Jinping wants to repair the Belt and Road brand—as 37 world leaders gather in Beijing—but promises for reform will require further monitoring. CSIS’s Matthew Goodman and Jonathan Hillman go over some key questions ahead of China’s Second Belt and Road forum.

  • The Higher Road | April 23, 2019, 9:56 a.m.

    Over the next 15 years, more hard infrastructure is projected to be built around the world than currently exists. As our infrastructure is transformed, so will be the economies it fuels, the regions it connects, and the global commons it underpins. These trends are too powerful and potentially beneficial for the United States to stop, and too consequential to ignore.

  • Reconnecting Asia: Analyzing China's Belt and Road | April 22, 2019, 1:19 p.m.

    On April 25, China will convene leaders from 37 countries for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. Here is some of Reconnecting Asia's top analysis of China's Belt and Road Initiative ahead of the summit.

  • Solomon Islands Debates BRI | April 22, 2019, 9:10 a.m.

    The Solomon Islands may elect a pro-China prime minister as its seeks infrastructure investments from China. The South Pacific nation does not want to be left behind as neighbors Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu benefit from their participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, reports Nikkei.

  • Abe offers Eastern Europe BRI Alternative | April 18, 2019, 9:10 a.m.

    Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Slovakia later this month, where he plans to offer Eastern European leaders Japanese-financed infrastructure investments. Abe is expected to raise concerns about China's so-called debt-trap diplomacy, presenting Japan's approach as an alternative to the Belt and Road Initiative, reports Nikkei.

  • Maldives Votes to Investigate BRI | April 15, 2019, 9:15 a.m.

    Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's political party has won a super majority in the country's parliamentary elections. The president's party ran on an anti-corruption message that stressed the need to investigate Chinese-financed infrastructure projects that have dramatically increased the country's debt-burned, reports Nikkei.

  • China Cuts Malaysian Rail Cost | April 12, 2019, 9:03 a.m.

    Malaysia and China agreed on Friday to resume construction of the multi-billion dollar East Coast Rail Link project after months of negotiations that strained ties between the two trade partners. The two sides have agreed to cut the cost of the 688km rail project to $10.7 billion, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Malaysia Rail Project in Limbo | April 10, 2019, 9:41 a.m.

    China Communications Construction Co. executives on Wednesday reiterated the infrastructure company has not given up on the multibillion-dollar East Coast Rail Link in Malaysia, on which development work has been suspended for months amid doubts over the project's financial viability, reports Nikkei.

  • BRI Support Wanes in Maldives | April 9, 2019, 9:07 a.m.

    Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has gained support for his efforts to loosen the Maldives' economic bonds with China after his party won a wide majority in parliamentary elections over the weekend. President Solih has recommended a probe into China-led Belt and Road infrastructure projects negotiated under his predecessor due to corruption allegations, Nikkei reports.

  • China's Clean Energy Challenge | April 9, 2019, 8:36 a.m.

    China’s Global Energy Interconnection (GEI) initiative is an ambitious vision for transforming the global energy system that pairs a pitch for climate leadership with Beijing's industrial policy priorities. As China makes a play for green leadership in global energy governance, the U.S. needs to present a positive agenda of its own for the clean-energy transition.

  • Pakistan Faces Domestic BRI Concerns | April 2, 2019, 9:09 a.m.

    Pakistan's prime minister, Imran Khan, visited southern Balochistan province last week following Balochistan's claims that the province was not getting a significant share of the Beijing-funded $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. During his visit to Balochistan, Khan inaugurated several construction projects seen as crucial for the local economy, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Austria Warns about China's Influence in Europe | March 29, 2019, 9:07 a.m.

    Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl expressed concern over China's economic inroads in Europe that have now brought Italy, a G7 power, into the Belt and Road club. Kneissl said the rest of the European Union must recognize the risks and deal with Beijing's expansionist wallet diplomacy, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Europe Divided on China's BRI | March 28, 2019, 9:28 a.m.

    The European Union's recently adjusted China policy describes Beijing as a "systemic competitor." Yet from Greece to Italy, China's Belt & Road infrastructure investments, and the political influence these afford China, undermine efforts to build a European consensus on China, reports Nikkei.

  • China Pressures Turkey through BRI | March 26, 2019, 9:06 a.m.

    China is pushing back against Turkey for criticizing its treatment of the minority Uighur Muslim population in Xinjiang province, using Beijing's economic influence through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to stifle criticism, Nikkei reports. Turkey is a crucial link in China's BRI due to its proximity to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

  • China Operating Trieste Port Concerns EU | March 25, 2019, 9:04 a.m.

    China Communications Construction has signed an agreement to operate the northern Italian port of Trieste. Combined with Piraeus in Greece, Sines in Portugal and Valencia in Spain it could form a new Chinese-controlled logistics network capable of redesigning Europe's industrial chains, reports Nikkei.

  • Duterte Plans Japan Visit | March 22, 2019, 9:06 a.m.

    Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will visit Japan in late May to discuss infrastructure projects the Japanese government is supporting in the Philippines, including the country's first-ever subway line in Manila. Duterte has also recently confirmed through a spokesman that he will attend April's international Belt and Road conference in Beijing, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Much Ado about BRI Agreements | March 22, 2019, 8:41 a.m.

    Xi Jinping arrived in Italy today to sign a memorandum of understanding for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a development that has already drawn criticism from the U.S. Washington’s frustration is understandable, but it plays right into Beijing’s hand. Publicly criticizing Italy’s decision gives unwarranted weight to vague documents that, like the BRI itself, overpromise and underdeliver.

  • Islamabad Distances Itself from BRI | March 20, 2019, 10:22 a.m.

    Pakistan has diverted around $171.6 million meant for joint infrastructure development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship effort under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), into other construction plans. This signals that Islamabad may be distancing itself from Beijing and the BRI, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Japan to Check BRI at G20 | March 18, 2019, 9:03 a.m.

    Japan plans to propose new guidelines on development assistance, tentatively titled the "G-20 principles on quality infrastructure investment,” when it hosts the Group of 20 summit in June. The proposal, which will frame anti-corruption and fiscal sustainability as key principles of infrastructure investment, is seen as an attempt to check China’s Belt and Road Initiative, reports Nikkei.

  • BRI Countries Must Build Local Capacity | March 13, 2019, 10:44 a.m.

    To effectively leverage the infrastructure financing opportunities provided by the Belt & Road Initiative, countries must examine their own development strategies and build domestic skills and institutions, argues Ganeshan Wignaraja for the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Italy to Support China's Belt and Road | March 12, 2019, 9:19 a.m.

    Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Friday that he is open to signing a deal that would make Italy a member of China's Belt and Road Initiative. The move risks stirring up divisions with other European Union members distrustful of Beijing's expansionist bent, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Belt & Road Reshapes Nepal's Infrastructure | March 11, 2019, 10:49 a.m.

    China's Belt and Road Initiative is transforming Nepal's domestic infrastructure through new roads, hydropower projects, and other industrial projects. Nepal has accommodated Chinese political interests to keep Chinese investments and exports coming, reports Nikkei.

  • What Italy Wants from China's BRI | March 7, 2019, 10:21 a.m.

    Italy is preparing to become the first of the G7 group of industrialized nations to endorse China’s Belt and Road Initiative, but what does this mean? James Kynge, the FT’s global China editor, looks at the main implications citing data collected by the Reconnecting Asia Project.

  • Calibrating a U.S. Infrastructure Strategy for the Indo-Pacific | March 5, 2019, 9:51 a.m.

    The U.S.’ new infrastructure strategies must not only respond to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, but also consider the complex landscape of overlapping initiatives already on offer in the Indo-Pacific.

  • China to Address BRI Backlash | March 4, 2019, 10:43 a.m.

    China convenes its top political advisory bodies, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the National People's Congress this, this week. Analysts expect the meetings will address rising political backlash against China's Belt and Road initiative, reports Nikkei.

  • China’s Digital Silk Road and Southeast Asia | Feb. 19, 2019, 10:44 a.m.

    Southeast Asia’s increasingly authoritarian leaders are finding China’s cyber model to be attractive, given that the Chinese government has been able to control and access data while at the same time dramatically growing its digital economy.

  • China’s BRI Faces Domestic Concerns | Feb. 15, 2019, 9:12 a.m.

    Increasing criticism towards China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) coupled with China's economic squeeze has prompted Chinese skeptics of BRI to quietly ask if their government is putting its scarce resources to the right use. Although President Xi Jinping's BRI is still supported by leaders in Beijing, Xi's original ambitions are being rolled back out of public view, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Beijing-Backed Coal Projects Raise Concerns in Pakistan | Feb. 13, 2019, 9:31 a.m.

    Weeks after a meeting of government officials from Beijing and Islamabad, the environmental impact of China-led coal-fired power generation projects in Pakistan is still a hot topic of debate. Lack of disclosure on plans associated with $62 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which forms a crucial part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, is spurring local environmental concerns.

  • China's Vision for a Global Grid | Feb. 13, 2019, 8:51 a.m.

    In 2015, Chinese president Xi Jinping debuted a plan at the UN to knit the world's energy grids, currently fragmented along national lines, into a single global network. In reality, Xi's ambitious plan far outstrips what can realistically be achieved in the coming decade given current economic, technical, and political constraints.

  • Pakistan Disappointed by China Bailout | Feb. 11, 2019, 9:31 a.m.

    China's $2.5 billion offer to bailout Pakistan as its foreign exchange reserves dry up disappointed Islamabad, which reportedly sought $6 billion from Beijing. Pakistan's balance of payments crisis could threaten the $62 billion Beijing has invested in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, reports Nikkei.