Remember “no blood for oil”? Decades ago, the slogan emblematized opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Its logic subsequently shifted as the United States experienced a gas and oil revolution thanks to fracking.
It has cycled back into relevance following the Trump administration’s invasion of Venezuela and the seizure of its oil, which, despite its carnivalesque tone, left at least 80 people dead. The Iran war has now ...
Category: Infrastructure
Cosco Resumes Mideast Bookings as Second Chinese Vessel Transits Strait of Hormuz
China’s state-owned shipping giant Cosco resumed new container bookings from Asia to several Gulf markets, a notable signal that at least some Chinese operators now judge parts of the Strait of Hormuz route to be passable again after weeks of severe disruption.
CK Hutchison Unit Says Panama Arbitration Claim Now Tops $2 Billion
A unit of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison said on Tuesday it had widened its claims in an international arbitration case against Panama, saying damages had now risen to more than $2 billion. Panama Ports Company, which for nearly three decades operated ...
Kenya and Uganda Move Ahead on Regional Rail Link, Turning to New Partners After China Pulls Back
Kenya and Uganda took a big step on Saturday towards fulfilling the long-held ambition to build an East African rail network. President William Ruto was joined by Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni at a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday to extend the Chinese-built ...
Kenya, Uganda Presidents to Meet for Rail Link
The presidents of Kenya and Uganda were set to meet near their shared border Saturday to mark the multi-billion-dollar, long-delayed extension of a Chinese-built railway that has left Kenya heavily in debt. The Standard Gauge Railway, built from 2013 to 2019, ...
Panama Rejects Hong Kong Firm’s Claim of Ignoring Arbitration
Panama's president denied Thursday that officials failed to respond to an arbitrage lawsuit by the Hong Kong firm opposing the takeover of its Panama Canal operations, saying the government would "strongly" defend itself. The dispute stems from a Panama court ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
The Panama Model: How Weak Institutions Become Weapons in the U.S.-China Competition
In February 2026, Panama expelled Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison from its ports after 29 years, seizing millions of dollars in assets under a presidential decree issued less than a month after the Supreme Court ruled the concession unconstitutional. Nearly one year earlier, Panama’s government began negotiations to ...
Kenya Revives Railway Extension After 6-Year Stall by China Funding Cuts
By Duncan Miriri Kenya will on Thursday restart a multi-billion-dollar railway extension that was financed through revenue securitization, reviving a project that has been stalled for over six years after initial lending from Beijing dried up. The ...
U.S. Frets Over Potential Chinese Role in Brazil’s Santos Port
Kevin Murakami, the U.S. consul general in São Paulo, said Washington would oppose a Chinese company winning a tender for a planned large container terminal at Brazil’s Port of Santos, one of Latin America’s most strategic trade hubs. Murakami warned Brazilian ...
It’s Already Too Late to Break China’s EV Battery Dominance
U.S., European, and Japanese leaders are all talking about the urgency of building new supply chains to end their reliance on China for critical minerals and batteries that will power next-generation mobility, technology, and weapons. It all sounds great and makes ...
Panama Asks Chinese Shipping Giant Cosco to Return to Canal
Panama's government on Friday asked Chinese shipping giant Cosco to reconsider its suspension of operations at a Panama Canal port, the latest fallout from an ongoing disagreement between the United States and China over the waterway's oversight. Earlier this week, state-owned ...
Panama Hopes China’s COSCO Will Resume Operations at Balboa Port, Minister Says
Panama's government hopes China's COSCO Shipping will reconsider its decision not to use the Balboa port at the entrance of the Panama Canal, the country's minister for canal affairs, Jose Ramon Icaza, said on Friday. Earlier this week, local newspaper La ...
The Chinese Cable That Could Trip up Chile’s New Leader
By Paulina ABRAMOVICH Chile's new president, Jose Antonio Kast, faces a tough choice in his first weeks in office. Will he bow to U.S. pressure to nix a project to link China and Chile ...