https://www.scmp.com/rss/324361/feed The initiative spearheaded by the Chinese government and endorsed by President Xi Jinping in late 2013 aims to improve trade and economic integration across Asia, Europe, and Africa. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” is gathering momentum. Enthusiasm for the promise of vast infrastructure projects, investment and more “connectivity” is great, but it seems to cool closer to the most developed parts of Europe and the US. The initiative is supported by US$3 trillion of foreign currency reserves and state-owned enterprises. The new Silk Road also reflects geopolitical ambitions; it shows how the Chinese leadership wants to shape the order of an area that represents more than... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2098527/why-europe-and-us-cannot-afford-ignore-chinas-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2098527/why-europe-and-us-cannot-afford-ignore-chinas-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jun 2017 03:02:03 +0000 The sky over Beijing was a crisp, dark blue. With the arrival of 29 foreign leaders for the Belt and Road Summit last month, officials had made every effort to clear the air and roll out a bright red carpet. Representatives from more than 60 participating countries came to discuss China’s grand initiative: massive infrastructure investment to link China and Europe, and most countries in between, by land and sea. The project has been under way for several years, launched by China’s President Xi... https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2097680/heres-what-xi-jinpings-new-silk-road-can-learn-marshall-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2097680/heres-what-xi-jinpings-new-silk-road-can-learn-marshall-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jun 2017 10:15:45 +0000 Last September, I had said that, given the then pessimistic world economy, there were only two major stimuli or drivers that could possibly reignite global growth: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and China’s “Belt and Road” programme. The TPP is now as good as dead, and we are now left with the Belt and Road Initiative as the only ­global collaborative vision that could potentially be the engine of world economic growth. I attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2096323/chinas-belt-and-road-strategy-offers-winning-growth-formula?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2096323/chinas-belt-and-road-strategy-offers-winning-growth-formula?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 May 2017 09:15:15 +0000 This is an edited excerpt of Teo Chee Hean’s speech at the 20th anniversary celebrations of the city state’s East Asian Institute on Wednesday I first visited China in 1984 and have had the opportunity to observe China’s transformation over many trips, interactions and exchanges. Most recently, over the past three months, I co-chaired two of our three main bilateral mechanisms with senior Chinese leaders. The 13th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation in Beijing, which I co-chaired with... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2095521/chinas-new-silk-road-meeting-successful-says-singapores-deputy-pm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2095521/chinas-new-silk-road-meeting-successful-says-singapores-deputy-pm?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 May 2017 09:00:00 +0000 With the rise of protectionism in the West, President Xi Jinping ( 習近平 ) has vowed his support for globalisation through China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”. The recently held forum in Beijing symbolised China’s ambitious claim to global leadership, and the belt and road – which Xi calls a “project of the century” – serves as a critical pillar of his diplomacy. The belt and road is China’s game-changing strategy for the world, and it will fundamentally alter the dynamics of world trade and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2095370/can-chinas-grand-plan-revive-silk-road-spirit-succeed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2095370/can-chinas-grand-plan-revive-silk-road-spirit-succeed?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 May 2017 09:21:43 +0000 The “Belt and Road Initiative” is definitely not just empty talk or a political slogan but a blueprint that could bring practical benefits to Hong Kong, the city’s financial secretary said. In his weekly blog on Sunday, Paul Chan Mo-po cited a wide range of projects in which Hongkongers were participating as examples of how the city could export its talent and seize opportunities that come with Beijing’s development strategy. Chan was among a 30-strong delegation of local officials, business... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2095136/belt-and-road-initiative-could-bring-hong-kong-practical?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2095136/belt-and-road-initiative-could-bring-hong-kong-practical?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 May 2017 14:27:23 +0000 China invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and six cabinet colleagues to its “new Silk Road” summit this month, even offering to rename a flagship Pakistani project running through disputed territory to persuade them to attend, a top official in Modi’s ruling group and diplomats said. But New Delhi rebuffed Beijing’s diplomatic push, incensed that a key project in its massive initiative to open land and sea corridors linking China with the rest of Asia and beyond runs through Pakistani... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2095091/india-snubs-chins-new-silk-road-summit-underlining-mounting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2095091/india-snubs-chins-new-silk-road-summit-underlining-mounting?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 May 2017 04:15:45 +0000 China’s decision not to invite Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to last weekend’s Belt and Road Forum highlights the still-strained ties between the two countries, observers say, though officials in the Lion City have tried to shrug off talk of any diplomatic rift. Of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) members, only three countries were not represented by their heads of government at the high-level summit in Beijing: Singapore, Thailand and Brunei. Twenty-nine... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2094781/what-belt-and-road-snub-means-singapores-ties-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2094781/what-belt-and-road-snub-means-singapores-ties-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 May 2017 05:30:30 +0000 The red carpets have been rolled up, the visiting leaders have left and cash has been committed. On the face of it, Beijing’s diplomatic extravaganza to galvanise support for its global trade and infrastructure outreach programme went off without a major hitch. By the end of the two-day forum for the “Belt and Road Initiative”, nearly 30 nations in Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America were all board Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plan to breathe new life into ancient trade routes linking China... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094719/vision-or-mirage-cashed-and-keen-china-faces-long-haul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094719/vision-or-mirage-cashed-and-keen-china-faces-long-haul?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 May 2017 00:03:03 +0000 Pakistan on Wednesday invited Hong Kong to invest in the country’s infrastructure and anticipated property market boom, as a top-level delegation to the city got down to business. The “long friendship” with Hong Kong must develop into an “economic partnership”, Pakistani Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan told the Post, and the city could be a key player in transferring capital, expertise and building infrastructure. On the second day of their visit, Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2094712/pakistan-prime-minister-invites-hong-kong-invest-country?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2094712/pakistan-prime-minister-invites-hong-kong-invest-country?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 May 2017 14:01:40 +0000 Economic globalisation is under assault as never before, and its proponents must redouble their efforts, in words and deeds, to demonstrate the benefits international cooperation can bring. It is encouraging, therefore, to see China press ahead with its massive “One Belt, One Road” project, potentially the world’s largest overseas infrastructure investment drive by a single country. However, over the past 15 years, models of development have evolved. Given the increasingly pressing challenges... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2094611/why-chinas-belt-and-road-must-be-pathway-sustainable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2094611/why-chinas-belt-and-road-must-be-pathway-sustainable?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 May 2017 06:11:08 +0000 While the just-concluded One Belt One Road Forum in Beijing had all the trappings of a colossal international spectacle, with leaders and politicians from around the world smiling for the international media and photographers, the absence of some political heavyweights served as a stark reminder that all was not going according to President Xi Jinping’s ( 習近平 ) choreography. Xi would have liked to see one leader who was conspicuously missing: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Miffed by... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2094549/china-must-heed-indias-concerns-coax-modi-board-belt-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2094549/china-must-heed-indias-concerns-coax-modi-board-belt-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 May 2017 04:03:20 +0000 China wrapped up its first “Belt and Road Initiative” forum on Monday with 29 state leaders and more than 1,000 foreign government representatives in attendance. Here are five things to watch as the plan continues to unfold. 1. In his address wrapping up the two-day forum, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that China would host a second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2019. China will also set up a consultation committee and liaison office in preparation for the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094578/five-things-watch-chinas-belt-and-road-plan-unfolds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094578/five-things-watch-chinas-belt-and-road-plan-unfolds?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 May 2017 23:01:40 +0000 This week, China took a great leap forward in realising its grand vision of reviving the ancient Silk Road, which ushered in the first stage of globalisation in human history. In his keynote address, during the mega summit for the “Belt and Road Initiative”, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged US$113 billion to build a new network of transcontinental railways, ports and highways, which will transform the Eurasian and African infrastructure landscape as never before. Addressing delegates from... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094539/opinion-china-vanguard-globalisation-and-great-paradox?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094539/opinion-china-vanguard-globalisation-and-great-paradox?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 May 2017 10:10:03 +0000 Hong Kong businesses should team up with their mainland counterparts to invest in “non-traditional” markets under China’s go-global trade scheme, Yvonne Choi Ying-pik, Hong Kong’s commissioner for the “Belt and Road Initiative”, said on Monday. Choi was speaking to the Post in an exclusive interview after the close of the two-day belt and road summit in Beijing. “It is difficult to quantify the achievements of the city, but it has been a successful experience for Hong Kong,” Choi said. “We have... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2094448/hong-kong-and-china-businesses-should-partner-invest-non?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2094448/hong-kong-and-china-businesses-should-partner-invest-non?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 May 2017 01:01:46 +0000 The Philippines will look beyond China to fund a massive infrastructure programme that Manila hopes will go a long way to advancing its economy, according to ­senior Philippine officials. On the sidelines of the belt and road forum in Beijing on Monday, Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said China had committed around US$9 billion to projects in the Philippines that would start soon. But that was well short of the US$167 billion needed for the building programme. Dominguez said... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094449/philippines-looks-beyond-china-fund-massive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094449/philippines-looks-beyond-china-fund-massive?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 May 2017 00:00:30 +0000 Social media account managers at Aecom, the world’s biggest engineering firm, have been busy publishing at a high volume about “a bold new infrastructure plan” from a widely publicised infrastructure conference for the past few days. Industry analysts looking to US infrastructure engineering firms for insights from the Belt and Road Forum, which just wrapped up in Beijing, might have been surprised to see that Aecom’s only focus was on Infrastructure Week 2017, a series of events convened in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/2094468/us-engineering-and-construction-firms-ignore-chinas-belt-and-road-forum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/2094468/us-engineering-and-construction-firms-ignore-chinas-belt-and-road-forum?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 May 2017 00:00:15 +0000 China capped its ­diplomatic event of the year with a commitment on Monday to host another international summit in 2019 to promote its grand globalisation strategy. The two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation closed in Beijing, with President Xi Jinping declaring the event a success and China signing deals with 68 countries to jointly develop infrastructure along the new Silk Road trade routes. “The initiative has entered into a new phase ... with construction in full swing,”... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094447/next-silk-road-summit-set-2019-beijing-ramps-global?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094447/next-silk-road-summit-set-2019-beijing-ramps-global?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2017 15:30:30 +0000 China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” has deservedly received tremendous attention in China and beyond, partly due to its ambition and promise, but also because China has put a lot of effort into promoting it since it was launched in late 2013. The belt and road forum that has just wrapped up in Beijing was the biggest diplomatic event hosted in China this year. In all, some 1,200 delegates from 110 countries attended, including 29 visiting heads of state and government leaders. The initiative,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094414/opinion-china-paves-promising-way-new-silk-road-must?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094414/opinion-china-paves-promising-way-new-silk-road-must?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2017 14:01:30 +0000 Hong Kong police will be put on high alert as the prime minister of Pakistan arrives in the city on Tuesday for an official three-day visit. Nawaz Sharif is expected to land shortly after noon Tuesday after concluding his visit to Beijing for the high-profile, trade-focused Belt and Road Forum. He is the third leader of an Asian country to visit the city in the past three weeks, after Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. A rekindled China-Pakistan love... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2094433/hong-kong-police-high-alert-pakistan-prime-minister-visits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2094433/hong-kong-police-high-alert-pakistan-prime-minister-visits?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2017 12:25:27 +0000 Wang Jianlin, China’s richest man, has revealed his plans to build gigantic theme parks whose scale could rival Disneyland, in countries along the Belt and Road route, as Chinese business heavyweights answer a national calling from Beijing for the ambitious trade development plan. Pacts to build the two entertainment complexes, called Wanda City, are expected to be inked this year, said the property-to-entertainment tycoon, who chairs China’s largest private property developer Dalian Wanda Group... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2094419/chinas-richest-man-builds-mega-parks-belt-and-road-route?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2094419/chinas-richest-man-builds-mega-parks-belt-and-road-route?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2017 11:21:22 +0000 President Xi Jinping said Beijing would hold its second Belt and Road summit in 2019, as he spoke briefly at his press conference to close China’s biggest diplomatic event of the year on Monday evening. “So far, China has signed agreements related to the ‘Belt and Road’ with 68 countries and international organisations ... We have reached consensus and passed the communique,” Xi told his audience of state leaders almost 30 countries and delegates from more than 100 nations. Almost 30 state... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094410/china-hold-next-global-trade-summit-2019-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094410/china-hold-next-global-trade-summit-2019-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2017 09:30:00 +0000 Sarah Zheng Sarah Zheng All eyes were on China for its biggest diplomatic event of the year – the Belt and Road Initiative summit – where leaders hoped to win over nations by wielding Beijing’s soft power alongside its display of political and economic clout. The two-day summit kicked off with an evening banquet on Sunday, welcoming heads of state from 29 countries and representatives from over 80 others with colourful performances of Chinese culture at Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts. With president... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094384/beijing-wheels-out-soft-power-millennial-road-gala?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094384/beijing-wheels-out-soft-power-millennial-road-gala?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2017 08:03:23 +0000 Hong Kong’s rail operator plans to join forces with a state-owned mainland Chinese rail giant to bid to build a multibillion-dollar rail line between Malaysia and Singapore, in its first attempt to capitalise on China’s global trade and commerce strategy, a top official said. MTR Corporation chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang told the Post exclusively that the company was interested in partnering with China Railway Corporation to bid for a contract to build a 350km high-speed rail link between Kuala... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2094370/hong-kongs-mtr-corp-plans-joint-bid-mainland-rail-giant-build?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2094370/hong-kongs-mtr-corp-plans-joint-bid-mainland-rail-giant-build?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2017 06:15:25 +0000 China’s grand globalisation strategy will not exclude any party or target anyone, Chinese President Xi Jinping told world leaders said on the second day of a forum in Beijing to promote his idea of connecting the world’s economies and boosting growth. Xi told a meeting of 29 state and government heads that China will keep its “Belt and Road Initiative” an open and inclusive platform. “It is open to all friends sharing the same thoughts,” Xi said. Xi Jinping primes China to be leader of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2094365/chinas-global-trade-plan-open-all-and-no-threat-any-president-xi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2094365/chinas-global-trade-plan-open-all-and-no-threat-any-president-xi?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2017 05:48:47 +0000 State leaders of almost 30 countries have agreed to work together to build roads, railways, ports and other key infrastructure in one of the world’s biggest economic diplomacy programmes led by China. The participants at the Belt and Road summit in Beijing said in a draft communique obtained by the South China Morning Post that they would improve cooperation to boost growth, trade and investment. The “Belt and Road Initiative”, the brainchild of President Xi Jinping, is China’s biggest economic... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094346/belt-and-road-countries-agree-boost-growth-trade-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094346/belt-and-road-countries-agree-boost-growth-trade-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2017 03:45:45 +0000 The “Belt and Road” international trade initiative is bold, inspiring and potentially an engine for improving economic, political and security realities among the nations involved. Credit is due to China’s President Xi Jinping and his government for launching the idea and their willingness to pursue it politically and financially. That is what all the political leaders in the Middle East will be saying at the summit on the initiative to be held later this month in Beijing. They’re right, but... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2093758/opinion-belt-and-road-initiative-can-help-slowly-heal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2093758/opinion-belt-and-road-initiative-can-help-slowly-heal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2017 00:33:42 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping’s pledge to invest at least 780 billion yuan (US$113 billion or HK$880 billion) via its state funds and banks to finance projects in the “Belt and Road ­Initiative” is more of a seed fund than a credit pipeline for the ­ambitious plan to expand China’s economic and potentially political influence in nearly 70 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa. The fund’s size, though large at face value, is tiny compared to China’s grand plan. Asia alone needs to spend US$8... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094311/xis-us113b-pledge-more-seed-fund-credit-pipeline?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094311/xis-us113b-pledge-more-seed-fund-credit-pipeline?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2017 15:25:29 +0000 Cash has been committed, ­promises have been made and leaders’ hands have been shaken. But for all the buzz in Beijing about China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, scepticism still dogs the massive trade and infrastructure programme. The initiative, unveiled by President Xi Jinping in 2013, is touted as a visionary scheme to build infrastructure and expand trade throughout Asia, Africa and Europe. At the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on Sunday, Xi said China was committed to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094309/never-mind-belt-and-road-cash-what-about-chinas-growing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094309/never-mind-belt-and-road-cash-what-about-chinas-growing?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2017 15:11:33 +0000 Hong Kong and London have locked horns at a two-day high-level forum in Beijing over which city is best placed to act as the ­finance hub for China’s global trade and commerce strategy. At the first day of the Belt and Road Forum for International ­Cooperation, Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying ­insisted the city was “the preferred destination” for capital flows from the mainland. Leung cited the city’s status as the largest offshore settlement centre for yuan trade and its title as the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2094308/trillions-us-dollars-line-hong-kong-and-london-bid-become?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2094308/trillions-us-dollars-line-hong-kong-and-london-bid-become?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2017 15:00:45 +0000 An impromptu turn at a grand piano by Russian President Vladimir Putin as he waited for talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping left residents in the host country impressed. According to Russian media reports, Putin played the melodies of two songs about Moscow and Saint Petersburg – Moscow Windows and The City Over the Free Neva on Sunday at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on the sidelines of the Belt and Road forum. Video the Putin playing the Soviet-era songs was shared and liked on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094303/putin-adds-piano-man-his-resume-and-wins-more-fans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094303/putin-adds-piano-man-his-resume-and-wins-more-fans?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2017 14:44:57 +0000 Groups of armed police officers gathered outside Beijing’s airport and subway stations. A cluster of stations in central Beijing shut – including several near Tiananmen Square – with trains zooming by without stopping. Volunteers in conspicuous blue uniforms and red armbands patrolling the streets downtown. Dozens of soldiers standing at rigid attention at the media centre near the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium as well as outside five-star hotels around town. Security guards examining with... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2094286/chaos-inconvenience-blue-skies-long-suffering?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2094286/chaos-inconvenience-blue-skies-long-suffering?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2017 09:15:15 +0000 North Korea tested a ballistic ­missile early on Sunday, casting a shadow over China’s biggest ­diplomatic event of the year and disrupting momentum towards a resumption of talks over its ­weapons programme. Observers said the launch showed Pyongyang was trying to buy more time to further develop its missile technology and strengthen its hand before any negotiations. Will North Korea crisis finally bring China and US together? The missile was launched at 5.27am Seoul time and flew for about 30... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094267/china-again-calls-restraint-after-north-korean-missile?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094267/china-again-calls-restraint-after-north-korean-missile?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2017 07:00:00 +0000 China’s two-day “Belt and Road Initiative” forum is under way in Beijing, attended by leaders and delegates from dozens of countries, including even the US, which has been sceptical of President Xi Jinping’s grand pet project to drive a new era of trade along the old Silk Road. Looking at the line-up, it’s easy to forget that 28 years ago, China’s leaders were desperate to roll the red carpet out for their Western counterparts and show the world that the country was open for business and better... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2094262/all-eyes-beijings-next-point-man-hong-kong-diplomacy-evolves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2094262/all-eyes-beijings-next-point-man-hong-kong-diplomacy-evolves?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2017 05:30:30 +0000 A 30-strong Hong Kong delegation was among 1,200 guests from 28 countries and territories to attend the first day of the summit for Beijing’s “Belt and Road Initiative” on Sunday, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin welcoming the pack with speeches simultaneously translated into 16 languages. Despite being one of the smaller groups at the summit, the Hong Kong delegation, led by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, had front row seats at the show, with 10 of those... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2094257/hong-kong-delegates-get-front-row-vip-seats-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2094257/hong-kong-delegates-get-front-row-vip-seats-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2017 04:40:33 +0000 It is one of the most imaginative and ambitious programmes ever to be rolled out by a government. It represents a broad strategy for China’s economic cooperation and expanded presence in Asia, Africa and Europe, and has been presented as a win-win initiative for all participating nations. But for India, the connotations of China’s Belt and Road Initiative” are somewhat different. A flagship programme and the most advanced component of the initiative, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2094167/why-india-cool-towards-chinas-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2094167/why-india-cool-towards-chinas-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2017 04:00:45 +0000 China’s President Xi Jinping sought to attract countries to join his ambitious “Belt and Road Initiative” at an international forum on Sunday. Xi’s massive trade and investment grand plan seeks to connect nations along the new Silk Road routes through economic cooperation and infrastructure development. We sum up Xi’s key offerings as covered in his keynote speech at the Belt and Road summit on Sunday morning. Boosting funds China’s Silk Road Fund will increase funding by 100 billion yuan,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094250/your-quick-guide-what-xi-jinping-said-his-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094250/your-quick-guide-what-xi-jinping-said-his-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2017 03:15:00 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged countries around the world to join an ambitious China-led revival of ancient trade routes, pledging at least US$113 billion in extra funding for the new Silk Road initiative. In his keynote speech to the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on Sunday, Xi promised free trade, openness and shared prosperity. He projected China as a willing driver of global trade and investment – a sharp contrast to the isolationist agenda in Washington... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094248/xi-jinping-pledges-us113-billion-he-woos-world-board?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094248/xi-jinping-pledges-us113-billion-he-woos-world-board?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2017 02:30:15 +0000 China’s leaders never lack for ambition. Yet perhaps most ambitious of all is President Xi Jinping ( 習近平 ). His “Belt and Road Initiative” is arguably the biggest and most ambitious development plan the communist nation – and perhaps the world – has ever conceived. It exceeds even the Marshall Plan the United States used to rebuild Europe after the second world war. In general terms, the initiative aims to facilitate and speed the economic growth of China’s less-developed western region, thus... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2094156/whos-picking-trillion-dollar-tab-chinas-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2094156/whos-picking-trillion-dollar-tab-chinas-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2017 02:00:30 +0000 President Xi Jinping urged China and Pakistan on Saturday to press on with work the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project in Beijing’s drive to revive ancient trade routes. Xi made the comment in a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, one of dozens of leaders in the Chinese capital for the two-day “Belt and Road Initiative” summit, which starts on Sunday. Leaders from 29 countries will attend the forum, an event to ­promote Xi’s vision of expanding trade links... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094230/press-china-pakistan-new-silk-road-flagship-project-xi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094230/press-china-pakistan-new-silk-road-flagship-project-xi?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 May 2017 14:51:39 +0000 Less-developed countries along the new Silk Road stand be among the big winners of investment as China revives ancient land and maritime trade routes, according to estimates by a top bank. Credit Suisse forecasts that China’s massive inflow of investment over the next five years as part of Beijing’s “Belt and Road Initiative” could amount to as much as US$502 billion, or equivalent to 4 per cent of the total gross domestic product of the 62 countries along the routes in 2015. The biggest... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2094224/india-and-russia-tipped-be-big-winners-chinas-massive-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2094224/india-and-russia-tipped-be-big-winners-chinas-massive-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 May 2017 14:30:31 +0000 Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte received a chorus of approval at his only public event during his two-day stay in Hong Kong, which seemed almost appropriate as the controversial leader burst into song ahead of his speech on Saturday. The president sang a surprise duet with singer Kristine Gonzaga Demeterio to the delight of the 800-strong crowd gathered at the Regal Airport Hotel, who chanted his name throughout his address. Listen: Duterte sings a duet with Kristine Gonzaga Demeterio He... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2094226/philippine-president-rodrigo-duterte-hits-all-right-notes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2094226/philippine-president-rodrigo-duterte-hits-all-right-notes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 May 2017 14:15:45 +0000 Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said he planned to recommend Hong Kong’s economic strengths, and its readiness to contribute to the central government’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, to state leaders and businesspeople, as he left for a high-level summit in Beijing on Saturday morning. Speaking at Hong Kong airport, the city leader said organisers had asked him to give a speech at the summit, to be held on Sunday and Monday. Belt and Road role for Malaysia, if it overcomes suspicions of China “I... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2094211/hong-kong-leader-leung-chun-ying-says-he-will-talk-citys-role?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2094211/hong-kong-leader-leung-chun-ying-says-he-will-talk-citys-role?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 May 2017 07:43:39 +0000 The two-day “One Belt, One Road” summit that opens in Beijing on Sunday may provide the countries involved with an opportunity to break the ice on the North Korean nuclear crisis, diplomatic observers say. However, the road to halting Pyongyang’s nuclear programme remains long and could be bumpy given the deep distrust between the United States and North Korea. It would be too optimistic to hold any formal or informal meetings among the six nations that had been involved in talks aimed at... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094209/will-beijings-belt-and-road-summit-be-ice-breaker-north?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094209/will-beijings-belt-and-road-summit-be-ice-breaker-north?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 May 2017 07:39:20 +0000 China welcomes all countries to participate in this weekend’s forum on China’s new Silk Road plan, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, after the United States warned China that North Korea’s attendance could affect other countries’ participation. Two sources with knowledge of the situation said the US embassy in Beijing had submitted a diplomatic note to China’s foreign ministry, saying that inviting North Korea sent the wrong message at a time when the world was trying to pressure Pyongyang... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094207/china-says-all-welcome-silk-road-forum-after-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094207/china-says-all-welcome-silk-road-forum-after-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 May 2017 07:00:15 +0000 Pakistani residents in Hong Kong have demanded that the government bar their own prime minister from entering the city, saying Nawaz Sharif’s current involvement with accusations of corruption mean that could give the appearance of allowing “alleged criminals to seek safe haven”. By Saturday afternoon, an online petition to that effect had passed 1,200 signatures. One of the creators of the petition said he and others would organise “multiple protests” if Sharif enters Hong Kong. After joining... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2094208/pakistanis-hong-kong-call-government-bar-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2094208/pakistanis-hong-kong-call-government-bar-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 May 2017 07:00:00 +0000 Perceptive China-watchers have observed that President Xi Jinping ( 習近平 ) has modelled his political mission on Deng Xiaoping ( 鄧小平 ) – even if his methods bear a whiff of Maoism. Deng put an end to the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution and engineered China’s transformation towards socialist modernisation. Xi’s sweeping reforms and anti-corruption crackdown aim to engineer an analogous transformation that will deliver China to the cusp of a “moderately prosperous” society by the time of the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2094170/what-chinas-belt-and-road-has-learn-1920s-america?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2094170/what-chinas-belt-and-road-has-learn-1920s-america?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 May 2017 06:00:30 +0000 Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak goes into this weekend’s “Belt and Road Summit” hopeful of cementing his country’s position as a key player in the Chinese-bankrolled plan to recreate the ancient Silk Road trade route, but back home, his enthusiasm for the project might be politically costly. In a blog post this week, Najib said Malaysia’s “strategic location” gave it an edge in the vast plan masterminded by Chinese President Xi Jinping ( 習近平 ) to ramp up trade between Asia, Europe and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2094168/belt-and-road-role-malaysia-if-it-overcomes-suspicions-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2094168/belt-and-road-role-malaysia-if-it-overcomes-suspicions-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 May 2017 04:00:45 +0000 A young Chinese Muslim named Adam crosses one of the world’s highest borders into Gilgit-Baltistan, a mountainous region that forms the sole land bridge between China and Pakistan. He was just a baby when his father perished, along with hundreds of other Chinese construction workers, while carving the strategic Karakorum Highway into treacherous mountain slopes in the 1960s and 70s. Adam’s father paid the ultimate price to lay the foundations for the present-day China-Pakistan Economic Corridor... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2093736/highway-sell-how-55b-trade-corridor-rekindled-china-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2093736/highway-sell-how-55b-trade-corridor-rekindled-china-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 May 2017 01:00:30 +0000 The ancient tale of the wise men feeling different parts of an elephant and being at a loss for how best to describe it could be applied to the Belt and Road plan, China’s current signature foreign policy initiative. The novelty of having China propose something as grand and all-encompassing in the first place has itself attracted much attention. Powers like the United States and the EU have been demanding for years that an increasingly economically powerful China state its posture on its global... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2094166/what-brexit-britain-has-gain-chinas-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2094166/what-brexit-britain-has-gain-chinas-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 May 2017 13:15:45 +0000