News Analysis Unbeknownst to most of the world, the Chinese are hard at work exploiting African mineral wealth. The major component of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping’s plan for China to become the world’s leading economic power is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI goal is to develop a global infrastructure…
China’s Belt and Road Raises Debt and Pollution Among Poorer Countries
News Analysis China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was meant to increase the GDP of participating countries. In many countries, however, debt to China has increased, pollution has increased, and the trade deficit with China has increased; while GDP growth, associated with the BRI, has been elusive. A Silk Road to Debt In 2013, Chinese…
Why Is China Training Military Officers Around the World?
Commentary Four centuries after being occupied by the British, Barbados recently became a republic, renouncing Queen Elizabeth II in the process. Time to rejoice. Well, not quite. As Barbados cuts ties with Britain, it becomes closer with Beijing. In 2019, shortly before the pandemic brought the world to a screeching halt, the governments of Barbados and…
China Now Controls Africa
Commentary When we think of colonialism, we tend to think of men like Christopher Columbus and Charles Du Gaulle; and countries like France, Portugal, and Spain. In other words, we tend to think of colonialism in the past tense, as something that occurred long, long ago. Today, however, millions of people across the globe still live under colonial…
‘Free Money’ From China Promotes Corruption Along the Belt and Road
News Analysis On Belt and Road projects, “China offers substantial financing, usually as loans, but Beijing is not a member of the Paris Club and has never supported globally recognized transparent lending practices,” said Ambassador Alice Wells, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs. A lack of transparency in the…
China’s Belt and Road: Unfinished Projects and Huge Debt
News Analysis China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a “debt trap” and “data trap,” warned British MI6 chief, Richard Moore. Eight years in, the BRI is littered with half-built bridges, unfinished projects, overbudget railways, roads to nowhere, lots of debt, and angry people. “The ancient silk routes embody the spirit of peace and cooperation,…
Sri Lanka Selects Chinese Firm to Develop New Container Port
Sri Lanka has selected a Chinese firm to construct the second phase of the Colombo Port’s East Container Terminal (ECT), a move which is likely to alarm other Asian powers given Beijing’s maritime silk road ambitions. In a Cabinet decision on Tuesday, Beijing-headquarted China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) was approved by Colombo to develop the…
Chinese Military Deliveries of the COVID-19 Vaccine: Exercising Soft Power
News Analysis The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been particularly active in projecting China’s soft power during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The fleet follows the flag,” goes the old saying. It has its roots in the arguments of the eminent 19th century naval strategist, Alfred Thayer Mahan, who contended that seapower depended on trade. “Commerce was king,”…
Can a Weakening EU Really Challenge China?
Commentary The European Union recently announced the launch of “Global Gateway,” a bold project designed to compete with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). I use the word bold intentionally. After all, the effects of China’s BRI (also known as “One Belt, One Road”)—a global infrastructure expansion strategy adopted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)…
China’s Mercantilist Threat to Southeast Asia
Commentary A number of Southeast Asian states are being bullied. The mercantilist threat posed by the Chinese regime can’t be emphasized enough. This is an uncontroversial point to make. However, Christian Bachheimer, a researcher with an interest in “unpacking, exploring and expanding the traditional concept of hedging in international relations as applied to Indonesia and Asean,” begs to differ….
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