After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big projects boosted engagement in Nigeria alone more than twelvefold.
These shifts indicate a window of opportunity for African electrification. 60% of Africans still ...
Category: Belt and Road
Erdogan Pitches Closer Alignment Between Türkiye’s Middle Corridor and China’s Belt and Road
In his first visit to China in five years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed that Ankara's Middle Corridor trade route more closely align with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The Middle Corridor is a Turkish-backed multi-modal trade route that ...
China’s Belt and Road Recalibration: Why Kazakhstan is the New Metals Frontier
Despite widespread expectations that China’s engagement with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries would slow, recent data tells a different story. According to a new report from the Griffith Asia Institute, Chinese involvement in the 150 BRI countries surged in the first half of 2025, reaching ...
China Talks BRI, Mining with Afghanistan, Pakistan
China invited Afghanistan to formally join its Belt and Road Initiative and would like to deepen cooperation on mining. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the Afghan capital of Kabul for talks with Taliban government leaders. He also participated in trilateral talks with Afghan and Pakistani counterparts. ...
Chinese Company Leads Africa’s First Cross-Border Standard Gauge Railway Expansion
China Railway Group Limited (CREC) is heading the construction of a new transfrontier rail line between Tanzania and Burundi. Construction of the Uvinza–Musongati line was officially inaugurated during a ceremony on Saturday. The 1,435-kilometer electrified line will provide landlocked Burundi ...
China’s Belt and Road Hits New Highs, but Latin America Lags
By Fermín Koop and Patrick Moore The first half of 2025 saw the highest engagement ever for a six-month period under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s flagship global infrastructure program, a new report has shown.
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
China’s Belt and Road Shatters Expectations With Record Activity
For much of the past two years, we've been told to expect a slimmer, more austere Belt and Road under the new "Small Yet Beautiful" mantra. The days of Chinese mega deals across the Global South were over... or so we ...
Plugging into African Agency
After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big ...
Chinese BRI Investments and Construction Contracts Smash New Records in the First Half of 2025
The value of Chinese investment and construction contracts in Belt and Road Initiative countries surged in the first six months of 2025 to a record $124 billion, more than what was spent for the whole of last year. The findings by
China’s Middle East Math
There was widespread disappointment in Iran that China didn't do more to help Tehran during the recent 12-day war with Israel and the United States. Beijing, for its part, offered robust rhetorical and moral support, but little else. ...
China Backed Bali MRT Goes Underground for Tradition
Bali’s first-ever subway project is moving closer to reality, with officials favoring underground tunnels over elevated tracks to respect the island’s religious and cultural landscape. The $20 billion plan is being developed in partnership with China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) ...
Kazakhstan Says China’s Xi to Visit for Central Asian Summit
Kazakhstan announced on Wednesday that China's President Xi Jinping would visit the country next week for a summit alongside former Soviet Central Asian partners. Xi is expected to arrive in Astana on June 16 for bilateral meetings before the Central Asia-China ...
China Not Trying to ‘Replace’ U.S. in Colombia: Ambassador
China is not seeking to "replace" the United States as the top trading partner of Colombia, Beijing's ambassador to Bogota, whose president has announced a pivot to China, told AFP on Tuesday. Until recently Colombia was one of the United States' ...