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Belt and Road: The nations

Belt and Road: The nations
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.
A security officer attempts to control Rohingya refugees waiting to receive aid in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on September 21, 2017. The persecution of the Rohingya Muslims that year forced more than a million of them to flee and seek refuge in other countries. Photo: Reuters
Rohingya Muslims

Opinion | Why China should lead commission for a phased Rohingya repatriation

Given its Rakhine interests and diplomatic clout, Beijing could oversee a plan for return, ensuring security, rights and economic reintegration.

Belt and Road Initiative

China weighs risks as social unrest rocks strategic partner Nepal

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Belt and Road Initiative

China steps up Belt and Road Initiative funding with focus on Central Asia

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Artificial intelligence

My Take | China champions ‘inclusive AI’ to win the hearts and minds of developing world

Beijing’s policy is focused on more affordable systems, inclusive tech development efforts and a seat at the table of AI governance.

A girl plays with a humanoid robot during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 28, 2025. Photo: AFP
Global South

Can India block China’s leadership in Global South-based alliances like the SCO?

As Beijing promotes a multipolar world order based on empowered developing countries, New Delhi also views itself as a leader.

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China-Middle East relations

Boom goes the deal? China’s Iran investments under fire, but Middle East beckons

Mideast is crucial to China’s belt and road plan, but amid the Iran-Israel war, a question resurfaces: how safe are Chinese assets there?

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US-China relations

Could a ‘more focused’ US gain an edge over China in Indonesian tech contest?

Although Jakarta has close economic ties with Beijing, a report says the push to boost its hi-tech economy could present openings for American firms.

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Jakarta has long sought to balance its ties between the US and China. Photo: Reuters
China-Asean relations

Exclusive | China woos the neighbours, with Xi said to be planning 3-country tour in April

The Chinese leader is expected to spend three days in Malaysia as well as visit Vietnam and Cambodia.

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US-China relations

Trump cut off aid to South Africa. Will it tilt the balance in China’s favour?

Washington’s ‘self-centred foreign policy’ may push Pretoria and others closer to Beijing, observer says.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

Exclusive | Why does a Kazakh tycoon want to ride China’s electric vehicle wave?

‘We are a natural partner for China, especially in the growing EV sector,’ says Kenges Rakishev, chairman of the Fincraft Group.

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Kenges Rakishev, chairman of the Fincraft Group. Photo: Handout
China-Africa relations

China and the chocolate factory: Ivory Coast investment helps secure cocoa beans

If tonnes of beans go to China instead of Europe or US, chocolate makers in those regions will feel the loss, expert says.

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China is investing in cocoa bean processing factories in Ivory Coast and Ghana, which control 60-70 per cent of the world’s cocoa bean production. Photo: AFP
Belt and Road Initiative

China-Pakistan ties: presidents to focus on terrorism and economy

Asif Ali Zardari will arrive in China on Tuesday and is expected to discuss with Xi Jinping safeguarding China’s presence in the region.

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Ukraine war

Russia’s overheated economy is squeezing one of its key China trading channels

Investment in Russia’s railways is to be slashed by nearly a third, complicating trade with China, state media reported.

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Belt and Road Initiative

Xi Jinping touts shared views with Brazil on Ukraine, other matters ahead of G20

Xi says six-point Ukraine framework gets ‘a positive response from the international community’, even though Zelensky has rejected it.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping is seen at the Apec Economic Cooperation forum summit in Lima on Saturday. Photo: Kyodo
Belt and Road Initiative

Brazil backs away from joining China’s belt and road but keeps funding door ajar

Beijing had hoped to make the initiative’s expansion a centrepiece of Xi Jinping’s visit to the country next month.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomes his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to Beijing in April last year. A reciprocal visit is planned for November. Photo: Reuters
China-Africa relations

Chinese cement firms look to growing African markets to make up for woes at home

Major cement producers see higher prices – and profits – in countries such as DRC, Mozambique and Ethiopia amid China’s property crisis.

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China-Africa relations

Chinese firm says US$900,000 of gold stolen in armed attack on mine in Ghana

Workers including Chinese citizens were injured in the robbery in April and suspects have been detained, according to Beijing Xiaocheng.

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Belt and Road Initiative

China needs deterrent force to protect its expanding overseas interests: expert

Former PLA officer said worsening relations with the US and its allies have made the task more urgent.

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Chinese troops stationed at China’s only overseas base in Djibouti take part in Ivory Coast’s 64th anniversary of independence celebrations. Photo: Facebook/Chinese Embassy, Ivory Coast
US-China relations

Changes needed for US funding tool to compete with China’s belt and road: CEO

Head of US International Development Finance Corporation Scott Nathan calls on members of Congress to review the eligibility criteria for funding to help build partnerships, particularly in Latin America.

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China-Africa relations

Why China’s foreign minister still starts the year with a trip to Africa

The timing of the trips has remained consistent but their purpose has shifted since Qian Qichen started the convention in 1991.

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China-Afghanistan relations

Why China is wary of opening up Afghanistan’s new road to Xinjiang

Observers said the Taliban’s hopes that the completed project will become a link to China’s vast network are unlikely to be shared by Beijing.

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The exact location of Afghanistan’s Little Pamir Road has not been disclosed, but it is understood to reach the Chinese border via the narrow and barely accessible strip of land called the Wakhan Corridor. Photo: AFP
Belt and Road Initiative

Opinion | China’s belt and road success — Western narratives don’t do it justice

While a fuller assessment of this ambitious initiative will only be possible with time, its benefits so far cannot be denied. More importantly, the belt and road shows the rise of China has brought not colonial conquests or wars, but trade, tourism, infrastructure and economic growth.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Diplomacy

Vladimir Putin confirms he will meet Xi Jinping in Beijing next month

In St Petersburg, Russian president tells Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi he will attend Belt and Road Forum, saying the strategy ‘fully meets and coincides’ with Russia’s interests.

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Science

China-Italy nanotech helps repair Church of the Scalzi in Venice: paper

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

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China-Africa relations

China and Russia pursue Eritrea for its strategic location in Africa

Big powers consider Eritrea’s access to the Red Sea, Suez Canal and Persian Gulf waters and onwards to the Indian Ocean important.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) holds a welcome ceremony for Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki in Beijing on May 15, 2023 before their talks. Photo: Xinhua
China-Africa relations

China vows to aid Ethiopian recovery and boost ties with Kenya, Nigeria

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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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed meets senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi for talks during a surprise stop in Addis Ababa.
China digital currency

China railway hub to use Belt and Road connectivity to promote digital yuan

Xuzhou will promote the use of the digital yuan in cross-border trade with Belt and Road countries using its connectivity via 18 regular cross-border railway lines to 21 countries in Europe and Asia.

Cambodia

Asian Angle | Why Cambodia has mixed feelings about China-built Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville road

Two Chinese-backed projects in Cambodia show some can be far more effective than others and it’s not always easy to win people over.

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