Tag: Belt and Road

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 

By Tim Hirschel-Burns With the notable exception of the United States, all other 192 members of the United Nations agreed on an agenda for financing the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs). In important respects, the agreement on the

China is helping build nearly one in every five power plants operating in Sub-Saharan Africa today, yet most people know very little about how these projects come together. As electricity demand rises and traditional development partners pull back, China’s influence is becoming even more significant.

While the U.S., India, and countries in the Persian Gulf are all moving quickly to establish new critical mineral supply chains, the European Union is struggling to follow suit, particularly in Africa. The EU currently lacks a cohesive policy framework that ...

As the Israel-Iran conflict drags on, a typically overlooked workforce has suddenly entered the public eye: Chinese construction laborers in Israel. Despite its image as a high-tech nation, Israel relies heavily on foreign manual labor—especially in construction. Chinese workers, in particular, dominate skilled trades like tiling, carpentry, ...

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has appointed a new leader. Zou Jiayi, a former Vice Finance Minister and anti-corruption official, was elected as the new leader of the development bank, which functions as a China-centric version of the World Bank. She replaces Jin Liqun, the founding ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Astana this week for the second China–Central Asia Summit, meeting with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. At the summit, Xi emphasized China’s “eternal friendship” with the region and rolled out a slate of new initiatives, including cooperation ...

In this new era of surging instability and geopolitical uncertainty, so-called "Middle Power" states are rapidly diversifying their foreign policies to deepen engagement with other countries in the Global South, while reducing their exposure to the U.S. and China. 

China and Kenya have reportedly signed a deal worth about $500 million to set up local vaccine and pharmaceutical production facilities using Chinese technology. Aden Duale, the Cabinet Secretary for Kenya’s Ministry of Health, said that the planned facilities would strengthen ...

By Maria Papageorgiou The U.S. president, Donald Trump, claimed he was able to secure deals totalling more than $2 trillion for the U.S. on his tour of the Gulf states in May. Trump said “there has never been anything like” the amount ...

A series of geopolitical pressures is forcing China to rethink its approach to Latin America’s strategic waterways. Since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office, Washington has stepped up efforts to curtail Chinese influence in the Panama Canal, a vital artery for global trade and military logistics. ...

Colombia's ambassador to China first arrived in Beijing six decades ago and trained under Mao Zedong's revolutionary forces, before returning home to join a communist guerrilla group. Sergio Cabrera then made a name for himself as an acclaimed filmmaker, and now ...