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: November 7, 2022
New Kenyan Government Releases Controversial Chinese Loan Agreements For Standard Gauge Railway
Kenya's new Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen, rocked the political establishment in Nairobi over the weekend when he released the first details about the controversial multi-billion dollar loan from China to build the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
Why Kenya Should Have Never Borrowed So Much Money From China to Build the Standard Gauge Railway
The Kenyan national television network KTN broadcast a scathing 10-minute mini-documentary on Sunday that detailed the controversial history of the Standard Gauge Railway and how the lack of proper due diligence set the project to fail from the start. The focal ...
Loan Revelations Spark New Confusion Over Whether Kenya’s Port of Mombasa Can Be Seized by China
There is renewed anxiety in Kenya over whether the Port the Mombasa is at risk of being seized by Chinese creditors in the event that the government fails to repay the loan for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
Even Amid Debt Crisis, Kenya Still Wants to Extend SGR to Ugandan Border
The burgeoning fiscal crisis in Kenya is not dampening the government's ambition to extend the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway from the Naivasha in the Rift Valley all the way to Kisumu near the border with Uganda. “This project will only make ...
Huawei Eyes Expansion in the DR Congo
A delegation of senior executives from Huawei's Africa division met on Friday with Congolese Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde at his office in Kinshasa to discuss "the DRC's digital development." No other details about the meeting were made available. Huawei is leaning ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Awkward Timing as Italy Withdraws from BRI
Why Sharif’s Recent Visit to Pakistan Wasn’t as Successful as Many Think
Dear Eric and Cobus, Because I know you all care deeply about this topic, I thought I’d share my take on the Pakistan-China relationship and what came out of PM Sharif’s recent Beijing trip. I’m saying this because I’ve got a ...