Tag: Belt and Road Initiative

U.S. imposes sanctions on Chinese enterprises and executives active in South China Sea
World

U.S. imposes sanctions on Chinese enterprises and executives active in South China Sea

Increasing China’s troubles, the United States has imposed a set of visa and export restrictions against Chinese state-owned enterprises and executives involved in advancing Beijing’s territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea.These restrictions by the US Department of State apply to various state-owned firms, including subsidiaries of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), a leading contractor for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).“The Department of State will begin imposing visa restrictions on People’s Republic of China (PRC) individuals responsible for, or complicit in, either the large-scale reclamation, construction, or militarization of disputed outposts in the South China Sea, or the PRC’s use of coercion against Southeast Asian claima
What’s blocking China’s highway to global dominance?
Opinion

What’s blocking China’s highway to global dominance?

China is synonymous with authoritarianism, overpopulation, manufacturing, expansionism, and patent infringement. However, the most recent addition, besides concentration camps for Uighurs is the Belt Road Initiative (BRI).The BRI was announced by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, as an Economic and Maritime Silk Road. This multi-faceted project assimilates infrastructure connectivity, investment and trade cooperation, financial integration, cultural exchange, and regional cooperation between Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. The projected cost of the BRI could reach a gargantuan $1.2–1.3trillion by 2027 as predicted by Morgan Stanley, making BRI the most expensive and expansive International infrastructure project ever taken.The antecedents of the modern-day BRI could be tra
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor faces new threats from militancy
Opinion

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor faces new threats from militancy

Ever since its launch in 2013, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been facing a lot of cynical scrutiny, with the United States cautioning that CPEC projects are neither transparent nor cost-efficient, and warning Islamabad that it is subjecting itself to expensive loans under China’s Belt and Road Initiative – through which Beijing has pledged more than US$60 billion so far.However, supporters of the project, including the Pakistani government, say that Islamabad will not end up being a client state of Beijing’s, and that the CPEC is its best shot at economic development.Indeed, the CPEC has not progressed as planned, with several large projects shelved and others still uncompleted. The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to slow things down further, even though Pakistan has approved
Xi’s attempted coup against Pakistan
Opinion

Xi’s attempted coup against Pakistan

In order to expand his direct influence over the political and economic processes of Pakistan, Chinese President Xi Jinping is all set to sideline the democratically elected representatives and civil servants of the people of the country.Since 2016, Xi has been forcing the Pakistani establishment to put pressure on the government (it was Nawaz Sharif’s government back then) to sideline the Planning Ministry’s role in the implementation and monitoring of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).He pushed for the creation of a supra-constitutional CPEC Authority that would freelance the management of the predatory infrastructure and power-generation projects under his direct command.The proposal was rejected then, but in 2019, it was again presented before the current
SP  Kenyan court declares $3.2 billion railway contract with China illegal
World

SP Kenyan court declares $3.2 billion railway contract with China illegal

A Kenyan appellate court called the USD 3.2 billion Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project between Kenya and the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) illegal, as the Kenya Railways failed to comply with and violated the country's law "in the procurement" of the concerned railway.Kenyan activist Okiya Omtatah and the Law Society of Kenya, an association of practicing advocates, filed the suit in 2014 in a bid to halt the construction of SGR.The petitioners said the railway was a public project that should have been subject to a fair and transparent procurement process. The petitioners said the project was not put up for tender and bidding process was not duly followed despite it being a government contract, the cost of which would be borne by the Kenyan taxpayers.When the case was in the ...
Beijing’s China Pakistan Economic Corridor will be ‘trillion dollar blunder’, say experts
China

Beijing’s China Pakistan Economic Corridor will be ‘trillion dollar blunder’, say experts

The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship of China's imperialistic and expansionist agenda under its Belt and Road Initiative, is set to become a "trillion-dollar blunder" project, say experts.According to a leading Israeli English daily, the CPEC, a collection of infrastructure projects currently under construction throughout Pakistan, was originally valued at $46 billion but is now estimated to be $87 billion and only a quarter of which have been completed.The CPEC was intended to modernize Pakistani infrastructure and strengthen its economy by the construction of modern transportation networks, numerous energy projects and special economic zones (SEZs). Plans originally called for a seaport, roads, railways, pipelines, dozens of factories and the largest airport in Pakista...
China attempts to shape European media outlets to propagate its narratives
Opinion

China attempts to shape European media outlets to propagate its narratives

In the wake of its drowning international image due to coronavirus spread, China has been found investing billions every year in European media firms to present its own narrative through tactics like funding paid-for advertorials and sponsored journalistic coverage.During 2008-2018, China made an investment of Euro 2.8 billion focusing on acquisition of shares in European media firms accounting for about 1% of its total European investments.In its efforts to reshape the global information environment with massive infusions of money, China has resorted to tactics like mergers and acquisitions of media organizations, commercial cooperation with media outlets, hiring PR companies to project Chinese views in mainstream media, cooperation by Chinese agencies with local news agencies, increasing...
China’s new high-security compound in Pakistan may indicate naval plans
China

China’s new high-security compound in Pakistan may indicate naval plans

With recent satellite images of several new complexes at the western end of Pakistan’s coast, analysts are now more confident than ever of the long-expected Chinese naval base at Gwadar in Pakistan.One of the several complexes has been identified as a Chinese company involved in port development and has unusually high security. The base, to complement the one at Djibouti, would strengthen China’s foothold in the Indian Ocean.Located at the western end of Pakistan’s coast, Gwadar is expected to be a major port in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. This will allow Chinese goods to shortcut through Pakistan, instead of sailing all the way around South Asia.China was first reported to be planning a naval base there in January 2018. While the plan has never been confirmed officially, it would be