World leaders are gathering in Beijing this weekend for a big summit touting China’s infrastructure spending spree to connect Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. The project, known as the Belt and Road Initiative—or “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) in straight translation—was introduced by president Xi Jinping in 2013 as a land-and-sea version of […]
Even as India shows no sign of changing its decision to keep off the international conference China has called for later this month to promote its flagship One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, Beijing has for the first time offered to re-name the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a key component of OBOR – to allay Indian objections. […]
China will gather its friends and allies together for its biggest diplomatic event of the year in May, a summit on its New Silk Road plan, with most Asian leaders due to attend but only one from a G7 nation, the Italian prime minister. Read Here – Reuters
There has been a chorus of voices in recent months who have argued that India’s official position on CPEC is untenable and will end up isolating India from the China-led connectivity transformation across the globe. Read Here – Daily O
China is not competing with India for influence in Nepal, but hopes its neighbouring countries, including Nepal, will benefit from Chinese development. Beijing also hopes that Kathmandu can be a bridge between China and India and to promote the China-Nepal-India Economic Corridor, which will bring development and prosperity for all three economies. However, the Indian […]
At the heart of India’s reluctance to embrace Beijing’s promise of road building and connectivity is strategic mistrust. The country is wedged between two nuclear-armed neighbours and has fought wars against both in the last 60 years. The historical baggage of the 1962 war still looms large in India’s imagination. During the brief war, Beijing […]
China’s industrial overcapacity and economic and social difficulties can be an advantage for India, but for that the Modi government will have to change the thrust of its foreign policy. Read Here – The Wire
There are strong commercial and geopolitical forces at play here, first among which is China’s vast industrial overcapacity – mainly in steel manufacturing and heavy equipment – for which the new trade route would serve as an outlet. As China’s domestic market slows down, opening new trade markets could go a long way towards keeping […]
The initiative is gigantic, with future investments of almost $1 trillion already announced. In comparison, America spent an inflation-adjusted $130 billion on the Marshall Plan following the World War II. China’s web of trade would span over 60 countries that are home to 4.4 billion people — more than half of the world’s population. Further, the initiative would […]
China’s ambition to reshape the Asian order is no secret. From the “one belt, one road” scheme to the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, major Chinese initiatives are gradually but steadily advancing China’s strategic objective of fashioning a Sino-centric Asia. As China’s neighbors well know, the country’s quest for regional dominance could be damaging – […]
looking beyond borders 