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Belt and Road: Background

Belt and Road: Background
The initiative spearheaded by the Chinese government and endorsed by President Xi Jinping in late 2013 aims to improve trade and economic integration across Asia, Europe, and Africa.
Russia will deliver 70 million tonnes of grain, legumes and oilseeds to China over the next 12 years, under the terms of a new deal. Photo: Bloomberg
China-Russia relations

China and Russia supercharge trade with record US$25 billion grain order

Economic cooperation between the neighbours continues to be ramped up as poor ties with Western countries and the war in Ukraine have restricted trade and stalled supply chains.

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Belt and Road Initiative

Opinion | China steps up climate fight with belt and road green finance partnership

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Belt and Road Initiative

Opinion | Western bias against China’s belt and road is hobbling climate action

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Belt and Road Initiative

Opinion | West’s attacks on China’s belt and road are futile

China’s infrastructure initiative has attracted criticism and inspired a cacophony of competing plans, including the G20’s economic corridor but fundamental needs are getting lost in the rush to conjure up new visions.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Asean

Cambodia’s Hun Sen wants ‘back in Beijing’s orbit’ amid US balancing act

Besides seeking financial support for high-speed rail projects, Hun Sen’s three-day visit to China is aimed at easing China’s concerns about Cambodia’s growing ties with the United States, experts said.

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Xi Jinping

Explainer | What’s at stake during Xi Jinping’s first trip overseas since the pandemic began?

The world has changed significantly since China’s president last travelled overseas, and his trip will be closely watched for signals about China’s next moves.

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Bangladesh

Bangladesh opens 6.5km longest bridge – built by Chinese engineering firm

The China Major Bridge Engineering Company Ltd built the structure, said to later feature a rail network connecting to Belt and Road projects.

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Bangladesh’s longest bridge, which took eight years to build amid setbacks involving political conflict and corruption allegations, stands over the Padma River. Photo: AP
Belt and Road Initiative

Opinion | Belt and road: the face of Chinese foreign policy won’t so easily die

The belt and road was not meant to be a single large infrastructure project. Rather, it provides the great machine of China’s external-facing apparatus with a new driving vision.

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Belt and Road Initiative

Opinion | Why China is most at risk of a belt and road debt trap

Partner countries have started to seek to renegotiate terms after projects start, meaning China may have to offer more concessions, even as instability threatens the projects. Beijing could end up becoming hostage to the massive loans it is giving out.

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Belt and Road: 2019 Forum

Why China’s belt and road loans may not be the feared debt trap

Study by US-based Rhodium Group finds only one confirmed case of asset seizure and says Beijing is more likely to renegotiate burdensome debts.

A Chinese-built railway line in Ethiopia. Last week the east African country said China had agreed to write off interest owed on loans. Photo: Xinhua
Belt and Road: 2019 Forum

China will not devalue yuan, Xi tells world leaders

Beijing is seeking to resolve growing concerns about its global infrastructure push as 37 world leaders gather at the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
Belt and Road Initiative

Beijing publishes standard for assessing belt and road debt risks

Document is based on similar measures used by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, Finance Minister Liu Kun says.

Belt and Road: 2019 Forum

From new faces to new funds, what has changed in the belt and road show?

It has been two years since Beijing hosted a forum for the participants and supporters of its global trade plan, and there have been some developments in the state of play.

Belt and Road: 2019 Forum

Exclusive | Is China’s blueprint for global development a belt and road to ruin?

Beijing’s global infrastructure drive will be in the spotlight this week when dozens of heads of state converge on the Chinese capital for the second Belt and Road Forum.

What might be the real purpose of the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’? Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
China economy

Belt and road ‘to boost global trade – even for countries that reject it’

Insurer Euler Hermes estimates China’s plan to grow global trade has seen US$460 billion worth of investments in the five years since its inception in 2013.

Beijing’s investment in Kenya’s railways under its belt and road global infrastructure plan aims to revive and extend trading routes connecting China with Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Photo: Bloomberg
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | The surprisingly brief existence of the ancient Silk Road

The exchange of goods and capital across international borders is not a new phenomenon, but it has never been without complications, whether in the ancient or modern world.

China economy

China’s top export financing bank to help firms hit hard by trade war

The head of the state-owned policy bank says it will team up with other government agencies to increase support to exporters affected by the trade war.

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Chinese history

3D images give Silk Road’s Dunhuang cave art new life

Exhibition ‘Digital Dunhuang – Tales of Heaven and Earth’ at Hong Kong Heritage Museum brings famous Mogao cave art to life, and allows public to appreciate murals from caves where visits are highly restricted.

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Exhibition ‘Digital Dunhuang – Tales of Heaven and Earth’ at Hong Kong Heritage Museum brings famous Mogao cave art to life, and allows public to appreciate murals from caves where visits are highly restricted
Belt and Road Initiative

Chinese firms find Belt and Road projects worth the risk

State-owned enterprises such as China Communications Construction Company, involved in the US$11b East Coast Rail Link project in Malaysia, expects overseas projects to account for 50 per cent of its business eventually

Belt and Road Initiative

Five things to watch as China’s belt and road plan unfolds

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Belt and Road Initiative

India, Russia tipped to win big from ‘Belt and Road’ investment

China could invest between US$84 billion and US$126 billion in India as part of the Belt and Road Initiative over the next five years, according to one estimate. Photo: AFP
Belt and Road Initiative

Are ‘Belt and Road’ videos China’s bid to win over young Westerners?

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A two-minute music video clip about China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’. Photo: Handout
Belt and Road Initiative

Cash crunch on China’s new Silk Road

Belt and Road Initiative

Who will pay for China’s new Silk Road?

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Belt and Road Initiative

Centrepieces and setbacks along the new Silk Road

A freight train laden with goods from London arrives at Yiwu railway port station in China. Photo: AFP
Belt and Road Initiative

Why China’s trump card in global diplomacy is fraught with peril

Even China’s most powerful dynasties found it hard to maintain influence in far-flung regions
Belt and Road Initiative

Who’s who in China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’?

Belt and Road Initiative

All you need to know about China’s ‘Belt and Road’ plan

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