Research team studies nine different ways to consolidate marble stones with patented combination of methods used in church restoration project.

South Asian countries welcome ‘to continue to ride on China’s development momentum’, Wang Yi tells event opening China-South Asia Expo in Kunming.

The delay of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway deals a fresh blow to President Joko Widodo’s flagship project that has already suffered land disputes, cost overruns and accidents.

The value of deals signed in the first half of the year passed US$43 billion, with metals and mining seeing strong growth.

China’s top diplomat makes a surprise stop in Addis Ababa and says Beijing is ‘willing to play a positive role in easing Ethiopia’s debt pressure’.

The 142km Jakarta-Bandung line being built by a consortium of Indonesian and Chinese state firms is already US$1.2 billion over budget and four years behind schedule.

Ports in Nigeria and Cameroon illustrate how Chinese firms are shifting to ‘integrated investment, construction, and operation’ model.

Private security is said to be in the early stages of being useful as a strategic tool for Beijing to project power and protect its interests abroad after President Xi Jinping discussed enhancing overseas protection at the 20th party congress.

Kenyan President William Ruto said during his campaign he would not go ‘anywhere near restructuring debt’, but his transport secretary nominee says current terms are not favourable and the country is ‘choked by loans’.

President Joko Widodo, who inspected a new railway station, said the project was 88.8 per cent complete and its commercial launch is expected in June 2023.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is likely to bring enormous economic benefits to Central Asia and western China, but it could also stoke geopolitical rivalry between Beijing, Moscow and Washington.

Implementation plan includes joint ventures and more Chinese investment, but observers also note Morocco’s importance in linking Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe.

The 1,000km-long railway linking Vientiane to China’s Kunming promises to cut freight costs and bring in an influx of Chinese tourists and cash – but not everyone in the landlocked Southeast Asian nation is on board.

AidData analysis finds recipient nations are concerned about project issues and Chinese debt burdens ‘substantially larger’ than previously understood.

The China Gezhouba Group Company suspended work on the Dasu hydro project in Kohistan.

Delayed schemes could be resurrected after Xi, Hassan chat.

Beijing has invested billions of dollars in the Western Balkans as part of its Belt and Road Initiative to expand Chinese influence in the region.

Timing of attack – which killed five people at a Quetta hotel where the Chinese ambassador was staying – could rattle investor confidence, observers say.

The Balkan nation had begged Brussels to help cover the costs of the project, which has been described as one of the most expensive stretches of road in the world.

The latest revision, agreed by Muhyiddin Yassin’s government, increases the cost to US$12.08 billion, and takes the length back up to 665km

The Peace cable, which will link Pakistan to Europe and Africa, has heightened concern in the US about information security.

Nairobi is ending its contract with the Chinese-owned operator five years earlier than initially planned.

Set to open this year, the link, aiding infrastructure access to Southeast Asia, will be watched closely after some Chinese-funded railways abroad hit problems.

London think tank tracks last year’s progress of flagship Chinese investment plan, finds about 15 ran into trouble.

Beijing was keen to use the trip to signal it is still willing to fund infrastructure projects and rebuild strained relationships.