Tag "Belt and Road Initiative"
Sino-Czech Relations: Change on the Horizon
The success of the five-party coalition “Democratic Bloc” in the Czech parliamentary elections this year represents a new direction for the central European country. Disillusionment with BRI-related investments was one reason for this outcome. This development may be part of a broader trend across the region.
Transnational Transparency: Southeast Asian Think Tanks Collaborate for Belt and Road Accountability
The Belt and Road Initiative’s (BRI) development throughout Southeast Asia is expected to contribute significantly to the economic and infrastructural development of the region. However, a perceived lack of transparency in China’s initiative compounds existing fears around rising debt and sovereignty over projects. Several Southeast Asian and Pacific think tanks have collaborated on a BRI monitor, aiming at evaluating levels of transparency and holding projects accountable. If successful, this could minimise issues of governance and implementation associated with the BRI to the benefit of recipient countries. Whether this success extends to other social and political issues associated with the initiative is unclear.
Hungarians protest encroaching Chinese Influence
Recently, Hungary’s President Orban has faced a wave of protests in response to plans to build a Chinese satellite campus at a Budapest University at the cost of $1.8 billion. The Hungarian public have objected on the grounds that the project could undercut the country’s higher education and increase the influence of China’s communist authorities in Hungary and across Europe. If the project goes ahead, there could be benefits for Sino-Hungarian relations but possibly at the cost of Hungary’s relations with its European neighbours and the stability of Orban’s premiership.
The political implications of Switzerland’s F-35 acquisition
Switzerland has finally selected Lockheed Martin’s F-35A for its Air Force 2030 program. The deal, with 36 aircraft, is expected to be worth $6.5 billion. Critics have argued that the F-35, with its sophisticated stealth and networking capabilities, is too much for a small country like Switzerland that requires only an air-policing aircraft. The decision to select the F-35 exemplifies how much politics are involved in purchasing military hardware worth billions of dollars.
Heightened Human Security Concerns in South Sudan May Lay the Foundations of Great Power Competition in North Africa
A South Sudanese famine, exacerbated by recent large-scale flooding, is threatening to deal a shattering blow to the world’s youngest state. Wracked by domestic instability and with a government refusing to acknowledge the danger faced by its people, the potential for a humanitarian disaster is enormous. Now is the chance for the UN and the West to reaffirm its commitment to stability in North Africa.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: How Delhi is losing the Indian-Chinese soft power game in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has increasingly become a focus of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the last decade. The Hambantota port development project is a notable example, an ambitious but costly endeavour by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, which was in the end handed over by the government to a Chinese enterprise on a 99-year lease in 2017 to reduce its spiralling debt burden.
Can the EU work with Biden in the Balkans?
The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) signed in December provides access to the Chinese market for European investors while protecting China’s existing rights in EU trade. However, US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, voiced concern over the deal, stating Washington would welcome early consultations with Brussels when addressing Beijing’s economic relations. The lack of coordinated EU-US strategic thinking on China poses a risk to Euro-Atlantic integration in the Western Balkans.
China’s new Silk Road or debt-trap diplomacy?
Italy’s decision to join China’s new Silk Road project last month has heightened Western nations’ concerns over Chinese expansionism.
Italy Embraces Belt and Road Initiative
On March 23, Italy formally endorsed China’s landmark Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The new arrangement risks riling fellow EU members, the United States and the rest of the G7. It could also see a seismic shift in China’s Europe strategy. Xi Jinping’s increasingly ubiquitous reinvigoration of the Silk Road will result in further involvement in European politics, business and defence for years to come, with wide-ranging repercussions. Italy’s decision places itself in an invidious position and will meet disapproval from traditional allies.
Between a Bear and a Dragon: New challenges for Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan’s president Nursultan Nazarbayev is stepping down. This exposes the new leader to challenges of balancing Kazakh interests between China & Russia
