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: China- ASEASN
Indonesia Elevates Security Concerns in ASEAN–China Talks
Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono’s recent remarks at the ASEAN–China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur mark a welcome and necessary development in regional diplomacy. Amid long-standing discussions dominated by trade and economic cooperation, his decision to highlight transnational crime and maritime security brings long-overdue attention to issues ...
Southeast Asia’s Trade at Risk: How Trump’s Tariffs and Chinese Imports Threaten Regional Economies
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to introduce sweeping tariffs poses significant economic challenges for economies in Southeast Asia. The region could become a battleground for redirected Chinese exports, flooding local markets and disrupting industries. At the same time, trade imbalances, protectionist measures, and deficits add to the ...
Indonesia 2024 Presidential Election: Forecasting Future Proximity With China
Indonesia will hold a presidential election next year that will potentially see three candidates battling for office: Anies Baswedan, Ganjar Pranowo, and Prabowo Subianto. Since declaring their presidential bids, the three candidates have talked about various issues, ranging from improving education, boosting employment, healthcare, ...
China Looms Large At This Week’s ASEAN Summit
Senior officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are gathering in the remote Indonesian town of Labuan Bajo for the 42nd ASEAN summit taking place this week. The summit comes as ASEAN is trying to recover from the economic disruption ...
Philippines Summons Chinese Ambassador Over Laser Incident at Sea
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos summoned China's ambassador to express his "serious concern" over Monday's alleged use of a military grade laser by a Chinese Coast Guard vessel against nearby Philippines ships in the South China Sea. In Washington, U.S. State Department ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Chinese PM Li Heads Home From Cambodia After Another Round of Diplomatic Speed Dating
Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang wrapped up a six-day visit to Cambodia on Sunday at the conclusion of a pair of regional summits where he also held a number of sideline bilaterals with both Asian and Pacific leaders: ...
China’s Global Trade Started Strong in 2022 But the Outlook Looks Grim
Powered by a new Asian regional free trade deal and new rail links with its Southeast Asian neighbors, China clocked an impressive 10.7% increase in first-quarter global trade compared to the same time last year, according to new Chinese customs data. Southeast ...
It Was ASEAN’s Turn For China’s Fast-paced “Speed Dating” Diplomacy
Right after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi returned from his annual trip to Africa in early January he decamped from Beijing to set up shop temporarily in the small eastern city of Tunxi, 400km outside of Shanghai. By ...
Chinese Media Claims More Than a Million Passengers Have Used the New Chinese-Built Railway in Laos
According to Chinese state media, the new Chinese-built and funded railway between China and Laos, which was launched two months ago, is a huge success already. Rail authorities in China's southwestern Yunnan province report that in the short time that it's been in operation, the railway's transported ...
China’s Has Huge Ambitions for International Railway Development, Just Not So Much in Africa Anymore
It used to be that, when a Chinese Foreign Minister made the annual first overseas trip of the year to Africa, as Wang Yi is about to this week, financing railway development would be a top talking point at every stop. ...
BRI Scholar Reflects on U.S.-China Competition For Influence in ASEAN and the Critical Role of Railways
The new $6 billion, 1,000-kilometer China-Laos railway that opened a couple of weeks ago is widely seen as the most visible evidence of Beijing's push to expand its presence in Southeast Asia. The railway's debut came just before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the region ...
The Key Takeaway From Wang Yi’s Week-Long Asia Tour: It’s Not Easy Balancing Ties Between China and the U.S.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrapped up a week-long four-nation Asian tour on Wednesday in Seoul where he met with his Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong. Wang also visited Vietnam, Cambodia, and Singapore on a trip that was expressly intended to bolster China's ties in a region that both ...