Italy has announced its formal withdrawal from the Belt and Road Initiative after joining the China-centered infrastructure and investment project in 2019.
The timing of the announcement that Rome won’t renew its BRI commitment is notable. It came only a day before the EU-China summit, which kicks off on Thursday. The summit will likely be more contentious than usual, with European leaders expected to push China on the treatment of EU firms amid discussions ...
Day: September 14, 2022
Xi’s Arrival in Kazakhstan Signals New Phase of Diplomacy
Xi Jinping is back. The Chinese President emerged from nearly three years of diplomatic hibernation on Wednesday when he landed in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan for a one-day visit ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit that will take place at the end of the week ...
More Developing Countries Choose to Stay Out of China’s Latest Spat With UN Over Human Rights in Xinjiang
China's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Chen Xu, read out a forceful rebuttal on Tuesday to the United Nations Human Rights Council's latest report that documented human rights violations in Xinjiang. There was nothing new in Chen's statement as ...
Sri Lanka Calls On Same Financial Advisory Firm That Worked With Zambia on Debt Restructuring
The Sri Lankan government hired the boutique Paris-based financial advisory firm Lazard to negotiate on its behalf with bilateral creditors in China, Japan, and India, among others. If that firm sounds familiar, it's because it's the same company that was brought in ...
First Avocados, Now Coffee Beans… Kenya’s Expanding Agricultural Exports to China
A first batch of 2.04 tons of raw Kenyan coffee beans arrived in the southern Chinese city of Changsha this week, marking the opening of yet another new market for Kenyan agricultural exports in China. The shipment arrived on Friday on ...
Kenya’s New President Meets With China’s New Special Representative For Africa
China's newly-named Special Representative for African Affairs, Ambassador Liu Yuxi, represented Beijing at this week's swearing-in ceremony for Kenyan President William Ruto and the two later met for talks. No word on what was on the agenda.
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Awkward Timing as Italy Withdraws from BRI
China and the Race to Dominate EV Battery Supply Chains
A new movement is underway in the U.S. to strip China out of the global supply chain for electric vehicle batteries -- everything from the extraction of the minerals and metals to the processing of those resources to make the battery ...