Category: Development

The G7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII), announced on Monday, is the newest Western initiative aimed at countering the influence in the Global South of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI.)  Perhaps predictably, the announcement drew sharp criticism from official ...

G7 leaders unveiled their latest effort to challenge China's Belt and Road Initiative with the announcement of the "Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII)." The new plan was revealed on Sunday at the leaders' summit in Germany and included pledges to raise $600 billion in private and public ...

A new railway cargo line connecting the southwestern Chinese province of Ningxia with the northern Iranian port city of Anzali is now operational.  The new 8,500-kilometer route is supposedly twice as fast as other overland transport routes and even speedier than an earlier rail link. ...

Wu Peng, the Director-General for Sub-Saharan Africa in China's Foreign Ministry, continued his African tour with a visit to Tanzania. He tweeted that he met with Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Liberata Mulamula but didn't specify what they discussed. (@WUPENG_MFA)

How China acts in the Zambian debt restructuring process will no doubt be closely watched in Laos. This is because of rising fears that the Southeast Asian country could be the next to fall into debt distress.  Laotian public debt now stands at $14.5 ...

By Cecilia Springer and Rishikesh Ram Bhandary At the end of May, Group of Seven (G7) countries committed to end public finance for overseas fossil fuel activities, going beyond their earlier commitment from last year to end such finance for overseas coal ...

Cambodian and Chinese officials dismissed international concerns about a new Chinese-financed upgrade of a navy base in the southern Preah Sihanouk province during a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday. Defense Minister Tea Banh and China's ambassador Wang Wentian both refuted reports published earlier this week by T

Chinese and Cambodian officials were quick to dismiss a Washington Post report this week that claimed the Chinese are building a new base at the Ream naval base in Preah Sihanouk province. "Cambodia won’t allow the Chinese military to use it ...

A Kenyan parliamentary oversight committee wants to review the controversial contract for the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway. But rather than addressing the contract’s opacity, it will again focus on the rumor that it puts up Mombasa port as collateral - a rumor that has been debunked repeatedly. ...

How African governments negotiate infrastructure deals with Chinese lenders and construction companies is far more complex than many assume. While most focus on the role of the head of state, the reality is that the leader is just one of many ...

This week marked the five-year anniversary of the Chinese-financed and built Standard Gauge Railway that officially launched on May 31, 2017. The milestone was largely ignored by the Kenyan press but was noted with some enthusiasm in the Chinese media. (AFRICA DIRECT -- Chinese)

It's been a rocky start for the new Chinese-built Nairobi Expressway that opened to the public two weeks ago. Complaints that the tolls are too high, accidents, and now massive traffic jams have all marred what the government had hoped would be a more upbeat reception for the 27-kilometer roadway.