https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/rss/500544/feed 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. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg Carol Yang Carol Yang Prominent economist Jeffrey Sachs says he chose Hong Kong and Shenzhen as the final stop on an overland journey retracing the footsteps of Marco Polo because of their significant role in powering the world’s green and digital age. The Columbia University professor set off from Rome on June 13 for a 43-day, 15,000km (9,300-mile) journey, the Marco Polo Drive of Peace, Culture and Sustainable Development. The former adviser to the UN secretary general said the journey was designed to send a... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3360177/hong-kong-and-shenzhen-perfect-end-points-modern-silk-road-leading-economist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3360177/hong-kong-and-shenzhen-perfect-end-points-modern-silk-road-leading-economist?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:03:36 +0000 Yujie Xue Yujie Xue Sitting in his lavish living room in Almaty, Kenges Rakishev – one of the wealthiest men in Kazakhstan – gets excited about electric vehicles (EVs), saying he drives a Zeekr and his father-in-law owns a Hongqi. The two Chinese auto brands are just a small part of his automotive menagerie, but the chairman of the Fincraft Group – with businesses in oil and gas, metals mining and processing – plans to add more to his collection. The 45-year-old just visited China in February, where he had the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3301654/why-tycoon-kazakhstan-wants-partner-china-ride-overwhelming-ev-wave?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/china-business/article/3301654/why-tycoon-kazakhstan-wants-partner-china-ride-overwhelming-ev-wave?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Mar 2025 23:30:11 +0000 Louise was living from hand to mouth while helping her aunt sell noodle soup in the Laos capital of Vientiane, which sits on a curve of the Mekong River. Their lives were mostly untouched by the increasing Chinese investment in their country that in recent years has built billion-dollar dams, bridges and railways. Louise* was in her early 20s and had few professional prospects when she was approached by a woman who told her there were great opportunities in China, the country’s northern... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3050632/bride-trafficking-hitch-chinas-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/3050632/bride-trafficking-hitch-chinas-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Feb 2020 03:00:15 +0000 Conglomerate Hong Kong King Wai Group has acquired a digital bank based in Portugal, in a move motivated by Beijing’s push to forge closer business ties with Portuguese-speaking economies and the rising demand from Hongkongers seeking permanent residency in Europe amid escalating unrest in their home city. The group secured the approval of the European Central Bank in early October to acquire over 80 per cent of BNI Europa, which has assets and deposits of about 500 million euros (US$554... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/companies/article/3039119/hong-kong-king-wai-buys-portuguese-digital-bank-bni-europa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/business/companies/article/3039119/hong-kong-king-wai-buys-portuguese-digital-bank-bni-europa?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Nov 2019 00:30:13 +0000 China is working to address mounting concern that its ambitious infrastructure drive creates debt traps for participating countries, according to people involved drafting a joint communique to be considered by world leaders at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing this week. President Xi Jinping’s multibillion-dollar “Belt and Road Initiative”, which aims to link China with Asia and Europe through ports, roads, airports, pipelines and other infrastructure projects, has also raised worries about... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3007558/china-aims-address-debt-trap-criticism-second-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3007558/china-aims-address-debt-trap-criticism-second-belt-and-road?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2019 01:23:50 +0000 Beijing’s global trade and infrastructure scheme reflects the new reality that China is no longer a developing country but a world power, according to Spain’s foreign minister. But Josep Borrell Fontelles said any projects under the “Belt and Road Initiative” should stick to key principles, including environmental sustainability and a level playing field for all parties. “[The belt and road] is proof that China is no longer considering itself a net receiver and starts considering itself a... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3007351/new-silk-road-reflects-reality-china-now-world-power-spanish?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3007351/new-silk-road-reflects-reality-china-now-world-power-spanish?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Apr 2019 21:30:10 +0000 Russia wants to team up with China to build an Arctic shipping route, its ambassador to Beijing has said. Moscow recently set out an ambitious programme to build new ports and other infrastructure facilities to increase cargo shipments across the Arctic, also known as the Northern Sea Route. Russian ambassador Andrey Denisov told the South China Morning Post that negotiations over the supply of Russian gas to China through a route known as Power of Siberia Two were at an advanced stage. “Almost... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3006794/russia-seeks-chinese-support-developing-arctic-shipping-routes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3006794/russia-seeks-chinese-support-developing-arctic-shipping-routes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Apr 2019 14:00:14 +0000 Spain’s top envoy to China has called on Beijing to open its market and level the playing field to close the “substantial” trade gap between the two countries. Rafael Dezcallar de Mazarredo, who took up the ambassador role in Beijing last year, also said that while Madrid was deepening cooperation with China on its “Belt and Road Initiative”, it was not the answer to Spain’s most pressing concern – addressing the trade imbalance. The Spanish envoy’s call came ahead of a key summit between... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3005210/spains-top-envoy-china-says-new-silk-road-wont-solve?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3005210/spains-top-envoy-china-says-new-silk-road-wont-solve?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Apr 2019 21:00:05 +0000 The deputy prime minister of Greece has warned that European Union suspicion of China is in danger of becoming a “self-fulfilling prophecy” while reaffirming his country’s support for Beijing’s controversial “Belt and Road Initiative”. In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post in Athens on Monday, Yannis Dragasakis said he hoped logic would prevail in the EU’s relationship with the world’s second-largest economy. “We would like to see the EU having good relations with China,”... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3004724/greece-says-eus-china-concerns-must-not-harm-its-economic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3004724/greece-says-eus-china-concerns-must-not-harm-its-economic?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Apr 2019 10:00:03 +0000 Italy has got an edge over other European nations by signing up first to China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” and it may be making some of them “jealous”, the Italian politician who pushed for his country’s involvement said on Tuesday. Michele Geraci, undersecretary of state at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, said at least two other European countries were expected to follow Italy, which last week became the first G7 nation to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3003406/more-european-countries-set-follow-italys-lead-down-chinas-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3003406/more-european-countries-set-follow-italys-lead-down-chinas-new?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Mar 2019 04:11:10 +0000 Ethiopia is renegotiating billions of dollars in loans from Beijing for a railway that links the Ethiopian capital to neighbouring Djibouti, to avoid being buried by “serious” debt woes tied to China’s controversial infrastructure push, Ethiopia’s top Beijing envoy said. But despite the increasing debt pressure on Africa’s fastest growing economy, Ethiopian ambassador to China Teshome Toga Chanaka defended the ambitious trade and infrastructure plan known as the “Belt and Road Initiative”... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3002957/ethiopia-talks-china-ease-serious-debt-pressure-tied-new-silk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3002957/ethiopia-talks-china-ease-serious-debt-pressure-tied-new-silk?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Mar 2019 14:00:10 +0000 If forced to take sides in the high-stakes geopolitical rivalry and trade war between the United States and China, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad would prefer the economic largesse of Beijing. He pointed to the current state of unpredictability of the American superpower as a negative factor when asked about the impact of Sino-American tensions on other, smaller nations in the region. In a wide-ranging and exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post focused on his Southeast... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/2189074/id-side-rich-china-over-fickle-us-malaysias-mahathir?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/politics/article/2189074/id-side-rich-china-over-fickle-us-malaysias-mahathir?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Mar 2019 23:02:55 +0000 Venezuela’s self-declared interim president Juan Guaido says he wants a “productive and mutually beneficial” relationship with China and is ready to engage Chinese officials in dialogues “as soon as possible”. In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post on Friday, Guaido sought to extend an olive branch to China, which has refused to join the US, European Union and most Latin American nations in recognising his self-proclaimed interim presidency to succeed Nicolas Maduro. Watch:... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/2184773/exclusive-self-declared-leader-venezuela-juan-guaido-extends?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/2184773/exclusive-self-declared-leader-venezuela-juan-guaido-extends?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Feb 2019 03:45:15 +0000