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Belt and Road: The projectsi

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.

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New study by the influential Royal Institute of International Affairs finds the ‘debt-trap’ claims often made by the US against Beijing’s sprawling infrastructure-financing programme to seize host countries’ valuable assets are simply false

  • China’s president unveils a vision for the infrastructure strategy that could help other countries overcome Western restrictions
  • Action plan includes harnessing markets and talent of participating countries to power scientific and technological advancement
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The 142km railway has been beset with delays and cost overruns – and some observers doubt its commercial benefits – but President Joko Widodo has championed the US$7.3 billion project.

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Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative has not proved to be the ‘transformation game changer’ many in the region were hoping for, analysts say – as concerns grow about some projects’ viability and added value.

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

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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.

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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’.

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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.

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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.

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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’.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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