https://www.scmp.com/rss/516906/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 Enoch Yiu Enoch Yiu Hong Kong has signed an agreement with Turkey to overcome double taxation issues in cross-border trade and investment, a move that also helped widen the city’s cooperation with more jurisdictions under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. The initiative, introduced by President Xi Jinping 11 years ago to rebuild the ancient Silk Road in 140 countries, involves building roads, ports, railways and power plants to promote trade flow, backed by funding from China’s state-run development bank. “This... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3279774/hong-kong-turkey-agree-double-taxation-avoidance-boost-belt-and-road-initiative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3279774/hong-kong-turkey-agree-double-taxation-avoidance-boost-belt-and-road-initiative?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Sep 2024 09:33:54 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Serbia this year, with the trip confirmed in a speech and social media posts by his Serbian counterpart Alexander Vucic. In a speech made at a Lunar New Year reception he hosted in Belgrade, Vucic said, “Xi Jinping, our sincere friend … will visit our country this year”, according to local media reports on Monday. The trip was confirmed during discussions with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the Serbian leader said. On Friday, Vucic in an Instagram post... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3253298/chinese-president-xi-jinping-will-visit-serbia-year-says-its-leader-alexander-vucic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3253298/chinese-president-xi-jinping-will-visit-serbia-year-says-its-leader-alexander-vucic?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Feb 2024 18:06:02 +0000 As China’s contest with the US heats up, its Belt and Road Initiative investments are fuelling geopolitical competition in the Indo-Pacific. The hosting of the third belt and road forum last year was lauded by President Xi Jinping in his New Year address. The US, however, wants to keep the Indo-Pacific “free and open”, and questions Beijing’s intentions in pushing a China-led network of infrastructure projects throughout the Global South. The Belt and Road Initiative, launched by Xi in 2013,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3248297/how-belt-and-road-fuelling-us-china-indo-pacific-contest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3248297/how-belt-and-road-fuelling-us-china-indo-pacific-contest?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Jan 2024 11:30:15 +0000 If we are in the midst of a global race for artificial intelligence (AI) breakthroughs, China is definitely a key player. While 2023 has been a year of AI hype – especially for generative AI, amid the popularity of ChatGPT – the industry has been of interest to most countries for years and will only become more important. According to the 2023 AI Index Report by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence, global investment in AI has significantly increased over the last... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3247052/china-track-be-world-ai-leader-2030-hong-kongs-help?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3247052/china-track-be-world-ai-leader-2030-hong-kongs-help?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jan 2024 21:30:10 +0000 In October, Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong attended the third Belt and Road Initiative Forum (BRF), which commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative – a hallmark strategy that signifies China’s ascent as a global economic powerhouse. During his meetings with Chinese leaders, Thuong underscored the importance of harnessing Beijing’s infrastructure programme to enhance connectivity and trade linkages between Vietnam and China. Yet despite Vietnam’s official support for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3245228/vietnam-rethinks-scepticism-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-laos-cambodia-reap-benefits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3245228/vietnam-rethinks-scepticism-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-laos-cambodia-reap-benefits?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Dec 2023 02:00:26 +0000 US President Joe Biden was at it again recently when he accused China of leaving its partners “dead in the noose” on its Belt and Road Initiative. Nowadays, his administration is at pains to counter China’s influence in the developing world. It has launched and relaunched an infrastructure funding plan for developing countries, now called the Global Investment and Infrastructure Partnership, rejoined Unesco, the UN’s heritage body, and is pushing regional economic initiatives such as the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3239874/us-should-join-china-building-better-global-south-not-hinder-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3239874/us-should-join-china-building-better-global-south-not-hinder-it?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Nov 2023 21:30:11 +0000 As the Israel-Hamas war rages in the Middle East, the international community is debating the extent to which this conflict might spiral into a regional catastrophe. For Israel, this war is its most existentially threatening since its 1948 War of Independence. For the world, the stakes have not been higher since the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and Egypt, when Russian and American intervention took it to the brink of atomic war. The current war began on October 7 with a surprise attack by... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3239699/israel-gaza-war-how-china-prioritising-politics-over-economic-interests-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3239699/israel-gaza-war-how-china-prioritising-politics-over-economic-interests-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Nov 2023 21:30:08 +0000 If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Father of Likonomics, Li Keqiang, fondly remembered Former premier Li Keqiang, who served as premier from 2013-23 and guided China’s economy through a difficult period, died in Shanghai at the end of October at the age of 68. China’s charismatic, truth-telling ex-premier mourned as reforms hang in the air Li was fondly remembered for his economic tactics, known as “Likonomics” that featured efforts on deleveraging,... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3239807/li-keqiang-gdp-and-trade-pick-belt-and-road-forum-8-things-chinas-economy-october?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3239807/li-keqiang-gdp-and-trade-pick-belt-and-road-forum-8-things-chinas-economy-october?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Oct 2023 23:00:42 +0000 When most people think of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, they picture mega ports, high-speed rail lines and billion-dollar highways. They don’t tend to picture alignment on technical standards or cooperation on customs regulations, and yet, according to Beijing, this is the sort of thing the belt and road will be focusing on in its second decade. During his keynote speech at the recently concluded Belt and Road Forum, President Xi Jinping said belt and road cooperation had already “expanded... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3239293/chinas-belt-and-road-will-still-focus-hard-infrastructure-whatever-beijing-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3239293/chinas-belt-and-road-will-still-focus-hard-infrastructure-whatever-beijing-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Oct 2023 21:30:08 +0000 What a great pity that China’s Belt and Road Initiative had to celebrate its 10th anniversary in an atmosphere soured by prejudice and misunderstanding. It should have been an occasion for general celebration. This is not the popular view, I know, but as someone long interested in infrastructure (my first editorial on the subject was published in 1966), I have respect for China’s initiative, despite its initial shortcomings. Building physical infrastructure, whether in the form of highways,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3239173/belt-and-road-west-should-work-china-build-infrastructure-not-against-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3239173/belt-and-road-west-should-work-china-build-infrastructure-not-against-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Oct 2023 12:30:09 +0000 All eyes were on high-profile guest Russian President Vladimir Putin when China recently hosted the belt and road forum. However, away from the spotlight, there were others present – rarely seen on the diplomatic stage but vital to Chinese geopolitical and regional interests. One such was Haji Nooruddin Azizi, acting commerce minister of the Taliban, the militant group running Afghanistan and yet to be recognised as a legitimate government by the international community. Azizi led a delegation... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3239269/why-china-wants-taliban-regime-afghanistan-thrive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3239269/why-china-wants-taliban-regime-afghanistan-thrive?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Oct 2023 15:00:08 +0000 As the US and China continue their stand-off over the latter’s rising technological capacity – and control over the minerals critical for tech production and development becomes a question of paramount importance – Beijing has intensified its efforts to build partnerships with countries taking part in its Belt and Road Initiative to ensure a steady, stable supply chain for these essential raw materials. The world’s second-largest economy secured mineral cooperation deals with more than 10... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3239009/china-turns-belt-and-road-countries-race-secure-tech-critical-minerals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3239009/china-turns-belt-and-road-countries-race-secure-tech-critical-minerals?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Oct 2023 16:00:10 +0000 Global Impact is a weekly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world. Sign up now! Despite growing questions about the Belt and Road Initiative, President Xi Jinping told world leaders this week that Beijing remains committed to investing more and has a new vision for the signature project as it enters its second decade. As the country’s biggest and arguably most important diplomatic charm offensive this... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3238949/global-impact-xi-jinping-vladimir-putin-top-bill-china-pledges-us107-billion-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3238949/global-impact-xi-jinping-vladimir-putin-top-bill-china-pledges-us107-billion-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Oct 2023 06:00:21 +0000 The third Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last week marked the 10th anniversary of the initiative, a massive strategic infrastructure project and bold foreign policy undertaking, ushered in by President Xi Jinping. In rolling out the event after a devastating pandemic, and amid geopolitical instability, regional strife and global economic uncertainty, China sent an unmistakable message that it wishes to see the world return to growth and stability through cooperation. Arguably Xi’s most... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238719/abundant-belt-and-road-opportunities-await-hong-kong-it-ready?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238719/abundant-belt-and-road-opportunities-await-hong-kong-it-ready?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Oct 2023 21:30:17 +0000 Grappling with the financial repercussions of the Ukraine war and Western sanctions, Russia’s second-largest lender is turning to China for lucrative opportunities to offset losses – and they have even floated the idea of building ships together. VTB Bank, cut off by Washington from the global dollar system, was entrusted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in August to manage the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC). With the conglomerate in financial straits, Moscow wants to see... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3238885/russias-sanctioned-vtb-bank-wants-build-ships-china-defiant-ceo-says-trip-putin-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3238885/russias-sanctioned-vtb-bank-wants-build-ships-china-defiant-ceo-says-trip-putin-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Oct 2023 14:00:07 +0000 Last week’s contrasts could not be more stark. While the United States, Europe and the Western media pushed the Ukraine war off the front pages to focus on the atrocities occurring in Israel and the Gaza Strip, dozens of leaders from the Global South gathered at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing to join President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to focus on trade, investment, economic development and infrastructure. In the West, the short-termism and overriding obsession with... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238782/chinas-focus-peaceful-development-stark-contrast-wests-war-priorities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238782/chinas-focus-peaceful-development-stark-contrast-wests-war-priorities?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Oct 2023 12:30:07 +0000 China and Russia are strengthening their partnership in food and energy, as both countries face mounting challenges amid tensions with the West, according to announcements made at recent forums in Beijing. The two nations have signed a nearly 2.5-trillion-rouble (US$25.8 billion) grain-supply contract, the biggest in their food-trade history, under the Belt and Road Initiative, a Russian insider was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency on Wednesday during the third Belt and Road... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3238699/china-and-russia-supercharge-trade-record-grain-order-bolstering-food-and-energy-security-western?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3238699/china-and-russia-supercharge-trade-record-grain-order-bolstering-food-and-energy-security-western?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Oct 2023 11:59:29 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war and called on Beijing-backed Arab states to mediate for a “lasting solution” to the crisis. Xi made the remarks in a meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly in Beijing on Thursday. The Chinese leader also said Beijing would work with Cairo and supported the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to provide aid to Palestinians stranded in Gaza. “It is crucial to prevent the conflict from... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238538/xi-jinping-calls-ceasefire-israel-gaza-war-says-two-state-solution-fundamental-way-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238538/xi-jinping-calls-ceasefire-israel-gaza-war-says-two-state-solution-fundamental-way-out?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Oct 2023 14:00:09 +0000 Amid Western inaction over climate finance, China has announced a major infusion of capital for the Belt and Road Initiative and a partnership to help developing countries identify and develop green projects. Roughly US$100 billion in new financing would be added, said Chinese President Xi Jinping at the third Belt and Road Forum this week, to the flagship financial institutions of the Belt and Road Initiative: the China Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank), and the Silk... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238517/china-steps-climate-fight-belt-and-road-green-finance-partnership?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238517/china-steps-climate-fight-belt-and-road-green-finance-partnership?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Oct 2023 13:00:22 +0000 China and Serbia have agreed to remove tariffs on up to 90 per cent of each other’s imported goods in a free-trade agreement signed as President Xi Jinping hailed the country as an “ironclad friend”. It marked Beijing’s first free-trade deal struck with a country in Central and Eastern Europe, and the fourth with a European country after Switzerland, Iceland and Georgia. The accord also came at a time when Beijing aims to widen its global trade network to counter external headwinds and ensure... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3238529/china-serbia-slash-tariffs-landmark-trade-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3238529/china-serbia-slash-tariffs-landmark-trade-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Oct 2023 12:00:20 +0000 China’s most senior military officer, General Zhang Youxia, has met his Serbian counterpart in Beijing, in a sign that China’s top-level military diplomacy may have resumed almost two months after the country’s defence minister disappeared from public view. The meeting came after China’s defence minister and top military diplomat, General Li Shangfu, went missing without explanation in late August, leaving China’s military diplomacy up in the air. A vice-chairman of the Central Military... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3238516/did-chinas-top-general-just-signal-restart-beijings-military-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3238516/did-chinas-top-general-just-signal-restart-beijings-military-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Oct 2023 10:46:43 +0000 Science and technology were key features in China’s new action plan unveiled during the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on Wednesday, as the host nation grappled with a growing list of export curbs on key technologies from Western countries. Chinese President Xi Jinping suggested that his vision for the Belt and Road Initiative could offer a pathway to overcome such challenges to achieve technological and innovation ambitions, adding that China is against... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3238412/xi-jinping-urges-more-sci-tech-collaboration-further-belt-and-road-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3238412/xi-jinping-urges-more-sci-tech-collaboration-further-belt-and-road-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Oct 2023 02:00:07 +0000 Beijing set the scene for the latest belt and road forum by issuing a white paper packed with impressive statistics to mark the plan’s 10th anniversary. They included more than 200 Belt and Road Initiative cooperation agreements with 152 nations and 32 international institutions, involving total investment of US$380 billion, two-thirds of it from China. But the white paper left a question in the minds of many of the 130-plus countries and 30 organisations represented at the forum. Could Beijing... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238409/xi-leaves-no-doubt-belt-and-road-plan-will-lead-further-prosperity-stability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238409/xi-leaves-no-doubt-belt-and-road-plan-will-lead-further-prosperity-stability?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Oct 2023 22:30:19 +0000 China has matched its previous funding pledge for the Belt and Road Initiative, suggesting there will be little scaling back of its ambitions for the global infrastructure project despite growing questions over the country’s economic prospects. Addressing dozens of world leaders gathered in Beijing for a forum to mark the 10th anniversary of the initiative, President Xi Jinping committed another 780 billion yuan (US$107 billion) to finance his signature project for the next five years. The move... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238418/belt-and-road-forum-xi-jinping-signals-china-will-stay-course-development-pitch-global-south?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238418/belt-and-road-forum-xi-jinping-signals-china-will-stay-course-development-pitch-global-south?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Oct 2023 14:56:57 +0000 As Beijing hosted dozens of world leaders for a forum marking a decade of its Belt and Road Initiative, much of the focus was on China’s embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who made a rare trip abroad to attend the event. Reaction to the two-day summit that ended on Wednesday has been largely divided along geopolitical lines, with Washington calling that embrace “unfortunate”. Many developed economies have long been critical of Beijing’s vast infrastructure investment scheme, with... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238416/views-xi-jinpings-unique-alternative-split-along-geopolitical-lines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238416/views-xi-jinpings-unique-alternative-split-along-geopolitical-lines?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Oct 2023 14:30:54 +0000 Despite cascading geopolitical unrest throwing global development prospects into doubt, President Xi Jinping pledged on Wednesday to extend the global infrastructure network under his Belt and Road Initiative, and Russian president Vladimir Putin vowed to strengthen the initiative’s integration with his own plans for Eurasia. At the opening ceremony of the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, Xi said China will ratchet up infrastructure connectivity and build an... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3238398/china-russia-pledge-belt-and-road-infrastructure-integration-xi-jinping-vladimir-putin-lay-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3238398/china-russia-pledge-belt-and-road-infrastructure-integration-xi-jinping-vladimir-putin-lay-out?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Oct 2023 14:00:10 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the Gaza conflict and Ukraine war on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, with Xi vowing to defend “fairness and justice” together with Russia. The Russian president made a rare international trip to China this week to show support for the Belt and Road Initiative – Xi’s flagship programme, now entering its second decade, which Beijing has touted as an alternative to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238383/china-and-russia-will-defend-fairness-and-justice-xi-tells-putin-first-meeting-start-gaza-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238383/china-and-russia-will-defend-fairness-and-justice-xi-tells-putin-first-meeting-start-gaza-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Oct 2023 10:04:09 +0000 China proposed a framework for artificial intelligence at the third belt and road forum, on Wednesday calling for “equal rights” on development regardless of a country’s political systems, a day after Washington broadened its restrictions on China’s access to chips. Without naming the US, the framework – called the Global AI Governance Initiative – was announced following the United States’ latest ban seeking to restrict access to advanced chips and chipmaking tools aimed at curbing China’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238360/belt-and-road-forum-china-launches-ai-framework-urging-equal-rights-and-opportunities-all-nations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238360/belt-and-road-forum-china-launches-ai-framework-urging-equal-rights-and-opportunities-all-nations?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Oct 2023 08:25:44 +0000 This blog has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s address at Wednesday’s opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will be closely watched for any new light he may shed on the future of the global infrastructure initiative. Representatives from 140 countries and 30 global organisations are attending the forum, which marks the 10th anniversary of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238307/xi-jinping-deliver-keynote-speech-chinas-belt-and-road-forum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238307/xi-jinping-deliver-keynote-speech-chinas-belt-and-road-forum?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Oct 2023 01:32:12 +0000 China will prioritise hi-tech and new energy in its plans for the Belt and Road Initiative – sectors it views as critical to powering domestic growth over the long run and consolidating its footing in the global supply chain, senior officials said on Tuesday. Addressing several hundred business representatives from 82 countries and regions, at a conference in Beijing, Vice-Premier He Lifeng set forth the core sectors for the belt and road strategy’s second decade at the third Belt and Road Forum... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3238271/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-get-hi-tech-boost-wealth-opportunities-promised-partners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3238271/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-get-hi-tech-boost-wealth-opportunities-promised-partners?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Oct 2023 12:30:16 +0000 As President Joe Biden prepared to visit Israel amid fears that the US might get dragged back into another messy conflict in the Middle East, Russia’s Vladimir Putin received a red-carpet welcome in Beijing. The Russian leader’s arrival on Tuesday morning represented a return visit after “dear friend” President Xi Jinping visited Moscow in March, and a show of support for the Chinese leader’s signature Belt and Road Initiative at a forum marking its 10th anniversary. But, doubtless the visit is... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238261/why-putins-visit-china-joint-show-defiance-towards-us-led-west?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238261/why-putins-visit-china-joint-show-defiance-towards-us-led-west?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Oct 2023 11:33:15 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping rolled out the red carpet for world leaders, including his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, for China’s biggest diplomatic charm offensive of the year at the start of the belt and road forum on Tuesday. The two-day summit, which kicked off on Tuesday, marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure and investment scheme that Beijing has touted as an alternative development model for developing countries. China is looking to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238235/chinese-president-xi-jinping-kicks-belt-and-road-forum-diplomatic-charm-offensive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238235/chinese-president-xi-jinping-kicks-belt-and-road-forum-diplomatic-charm-offensive?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Oct 2023 09:42:47 +0000 Russian President Vladimir Putin has landed in Beijing for this week’s Belt and Road Forum, state broadcaster CCTV reported. African and Southeast Asian leaders will also be among representatives from more than 130 countries and 30 international organisations expected to gather for the two-day event beginning on Tuesday, the foreign ministry said in a statement. In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Monday morning, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: “We are interested... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238171/russian-leader-putin-arrives-china-belt-and-road-forum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238171/russian-leader-putin-arrives-china-belt-and-road-forum?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Oct 2023 01:41:47 +0000 China hosts the third Belt and Road Forum this week, marking the 10-year anniversary of its multinational investment initiative. In the final of a three-part series, Laura Zhou looks at how Beijing is pushing ahead with railway diplomacy in developing countries. On the desolate northern outskirts of the Laotian capital Vientiane, a grand new railway station with a traditional curved roof seems to be sending a message: this country is going places. From here, a Chinese-built railway line costing... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238085/how-china-building-railways-bid-fast-track-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238085/how-china-building-railways-bid-fast-track-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Oct 2023 22:00:09 +0000 As world leaders descend on China on Monday for the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, Beijing will be eager to showcase its growing influence and position itself as a leader of developing nations, analysts said. The forum – which marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative – will be particularly important for President Xi Jinping’s standing in the world, they also suggested. Representatives from some 130 countries and 30 global organisations are expected to attend... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238087/belt-and-road-forum-showcase-chinas-growing-global-influence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238087/belt-and-road-forum-showcase-chinas-growing-global-influence?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Oct 2023 08:00:58 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/series/3238042/10-years-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/series/3238042/10-years-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Oct 2023 01:48:05 +0000 China hosts the third Belt and Road Forum this week, marking the 10-year anniversary of its multinational investment initiative. In the second of a three-part series, Jevans Nyabiage looks at whether concerns over debt burdens and a sluggish domestic economy might have an impact on investment. At Kenya’s Miritini Railway Station, near the coastal city of Mombasa, a statue of legendary Chinese explorer Zheng He sits on a plinth greeting passengers, more than 600 years after his voyage to the town... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3237860/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-running-out-steam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3237860/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-running-out-steam?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Oct 2023 22:00:21 +0000 China will hold its third Belt and Road Forum on Tuesday and Wednesday to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of this mammoth investment initiative amid doubts of its benefits and sustainability. In the first of a three-part series, Dewey Sim looks at how the Digital Silk Road has emerged as a driving force to keep the initiative appealing and help promote China as a global technology leader. At the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3237945/railways-5g-why-china-plugging-digital-silk-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3237945/railways-5g-why-china-plugging-digital-silk-road?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Oct 2023 22:00:11 +0000 Though Russian President Vladimir Putin is rumoured to be the “special guest” next week at the 10th anniversary celebration of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, experts say the two “no-limits” partners will have a great deal more to discuss. According to Elizabeth Wishnick of the Virginia-based Centre for Naval Analyses, a federally funded research group, while Putin will seek additional support from Beijing – “at least in messaging” – on Ukraine, “Xi... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3237932/both-sides-will-bring-wish-list-expected-vladimir-putin-xi-jinping-meeting-next-week?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3237932/both-sides-will-bring-wish-list-expected-vladimir-putin-xi-jinping-meeting-next-week?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Oct 2023 20:33:22 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick Chilean President Gabriel Boric is set to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Sunday for talks that will likely fortify ties between the two nations, although Boric faces domestic pressure to address human rights issues in China. In his first visit to China since being elected in 2021, Boric is expected to enhance cooperation with Chinese provincial governments and expand relations to second-tier cities such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Chengdu, where he will deliver a lecture at Sichuan... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3237759/xi-jinping-host-chilean-president-gabriel-boric-talks-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3237759/xi-jinping-host-chilean-president-gabriel-boric-talks-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Oct 2023 21:34:38 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping will host the third belt and road summit in Beijing next week, with a select list of leaders invited, according to sources. The foreign ministry on Wednesday said the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation – bringing together representatives of at least 130 countries and 30 global organisations – would be held from October 17 to 18. The forum was last held in 2019. As he has done previously, Xi will make an opening speech at the conference which will mark... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3237577/xi-jinping-host-third-belt-and-road-summit-beijing-next-week?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3237577/xi-jinping-host-third-belt-and-road-summit-beijing-next-week?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Oct 2023 09:24:03 +0000 China has redoubled its commitment to the Belt and Road Initiative and says it is open to any project that can help developing countries. The initiative, which was unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping a decade ago, will continue to be Beijing’s “overarching plan and its top-level design” for opening up and international cooperation, according to a white paper released by the country’s State Council Information Office on Tuesday. “China is ready to increase its resource input in global... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3237451/china-marks-decade-belt-and-road-white-paper-declaring-redoubled-commitment-help-developing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3237451/china-marks-decade-belt-and-road-white-paper-declaring-redoubled-commitment-help-developing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Oct 2023 10:14:49 +0000 China and Russia are “important factors” for global stability, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, as he pledged to increase security and economic cooperation with Beijing in the face of a confrontational and “bloc-based” Western order. Addressing an international forum in Sochi on Thursday, Putin said Russia-China cooperation aimed to benefit the world while US-led Western alliances always forced others to accept their “norms and rules”. “They are trying to create the image of an enemy out... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3237058/china-russia-ties-aimed-global-good-putin-tells-sochi-forum-slams-west-making-enemy-out-everyone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3237058/china-russia-ties-aimed-global-good-putin-tells-sochi-forum-slams-west-making-enemy-out-everyone?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Oct 2023 09:21:56 +0000