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: Southeast Asia
Indonesia Deepens Ties With Xinjiang Despite Human Rights Concerns
When the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) opened its doors to Xinjiang’s state-linked conglomerates this month, the event was billed as a milestone in deepening trade ties. Executives from Jakarta and Urumqi spoke glowingly of “mutual respect” ...
German Foreign Minister Says China’s ‘Assertiveness’ Threatens European Interests
China's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea and tensions in the Taiwan Strait threaten international security and European interests, Germany's foreign minister said on Wednesday. "What happens here in the Indo-Pacific has a direct impact on European security and vice ...
Why Students From China Are Picking Malaysia Over Traditional Destinations
By Koh Sin Yee Since at least 2019, China has become Malaysia’s top source of international students, overtaking traditional sources such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Pakistan. In 2023, a total of 44,043 Chinese students constituted
China Offers Help in Thai-Cambodia Row as Ministers Meet
Beijing offered to help Thailand and Cambodia patch up relations on Thursday after their deadliest border clashes in decades, as their foreign ministers met for talks in China. A long-running border row between the Southeast Asian neighbors boiled over into conflict ...
Cambodia’s New Chinese-Built Capital Airport Set to Open
Cambodian aviation authorities will conduct a final test flight on Friday at the country's massive new airport ahead of the official opening on September 9th. It took Chinese contractors five years to build the new facility that includes a stunning nine-ton, ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
How Pandemic Controls Still Shape Trade and Migration in a China–Myanmar Border City
A deeply reported story published on a WeChat public account specializing in literary reporting examines how pandemic-era border control policies in Ruili, once China’s busiest land port with Myanmar, have outlasted COVID-19 and devastated the city’s once-thriving jade trade while restricting the movement of cross-border migrant ...
Marcos Downplays Taiwan Comments After Chinese Pushback
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. downplayed recent comments linking the Philippines to a possible conflict over Taiwan, following an angry reaction from China. During his visit to India last week, he said that “there is no way that the ...
China’s Solar Expansion in Indonesia Still Relies on Coal
In West Java, a province just east of Jakarta, Indonesia, a sprawling industrial park is rising. Backed by Chinese cement giant Hongshi Holding Group, the $5 billion complex promises to produce the solar panels and batteries that the world desperately needs to combat climate change.
Marcos Says Philippines Would Be Dragged ‘Kicking and Screaming’ Into Taiwan War
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos warned Monday that his country would be dragged "kicking and screaming" into any war over Taiwan, but must prepare for it. China considers self-ruled Taiwan, Manila's closest neighbor to the north, to be part of its territory ...
Thai Police Arrest 26 Chinese Nationals Suspected of Illegal Loans
Thai police said they arrested 26 Chinese nationals on Saturday on suspicion they were running an illegal online loan operation. Officers raided a "luxury pool villa" in the resort town of Pattaya, about 100 kiolmetres (60 miles) south of Bangkok, and ...
Philippine, Indian Navies Begin First Joint South China Sea Patrols
Indian Navy warships have begun patrolling areas of the disputed South China Sea with their Philippine counterparts for the first time, Manila's military said Monday, as President Ferdinand Marcos departed for a state visit to New Delhi. The two-day sail, which ...
Firms in Vietnam Walk Tightrope as U.S. Cracks Down on China-Linked Trade
By Lam Nguyen with Sally Jensen in Bangkok As Donald Trump's eye-watering tariffs on Chinese products passing through Vietnam are set to kick in Friday, companies in the Southeast Asian country are cautiously waiting to see what falls into that category. ...