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Belt and Road: The projects

Belt and Road: The projects
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.
In 2025, the Middle East was Hong Kong’s 10th largest trading partner, with bilateral trade in goods of HK$192.8 billion, making it a significant stand in the various t rade networks that make up the Belt and Road Initiative. Photo: Karim Sahib, AFP
Belt and Road 2026

Ancient Silk Road to modern Belt and Road: how Hong Kong bridges China and the Middle East

As the Middle East seeks economic diversification, Hong Kong acts as the financial gateway for investment.

Belt and Road Initiative

Opinion | 3 key belt and road connectivities that Hong Kong drives

Central Asia

China tests Central Asian land corridors to bypass maritime chokepoints

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China-Africa relations

China’s port role in Africa extends far beyond docks: study

The Africa Centre for Strategic Studies says Chinese firms are deeply embedded across the continent’s maritime networks.

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A cargo ship approaches Yantai port in eastern China’s Shandong province, a hub linked to Chinese‑financed shipping corridors connecting African port clusters. Photo: AFP
China trade

China opens new Central Asia rail link to strengthen supply chain resilience

Beijing’s push to develop a transcontinental rail network has reduced exposure to naval chokepoints, analyst says.

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China trade

How a China-backed highway may turn landlocked Laos into a trade gateway

The project is part of wider efforts to build overland trade corridors linking southern China with the Mekong region.

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China energy security

China powers up major Southeast Asian solar project amid Iran war shock

The installation boasts more than two million solar panels and comes online as global fossil fuels face unprecedented disruption.

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China General Nuclear Power Group’s solar project in Laos. Photo: CCTV
China trade

As high-speed railways saturate China, how far can their global reach extend?

As Chinese giants eye Eurasia for new infrastructure, analysts speculate on what it will take to keep overseas projects from going off the rails in different host nations.

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US-China relations

The options China could take to deal with ‘serious setback’ over Panama Canal

Beijing has a range of possible options after a contract given to Hong Kong firm CK Hutchison was voided by Panama’s Supreme Court.

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China-Africa relations

How Algeria could help China plug iron ore gaps and gain pricing power

The Gara Djebilet deposit in the Sahara Desert was discovered decades ago but is only now coming into production.

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China’s CRCC has completed laying track on the 6km PK330 Bridge, a final and critical link in a new railway designed to unlock Algeria’s mineral wealth. Photo: CCRC
Hong Kong society

Hong Kong charity expands public health efforts across belt and road countries

GX Foundation driving the ‘social dimension’ and wider impact of Chinese investment with dengue prevention and health programmes in Cambodia.

GX Foundation have signed memorandum of understandings with its business partners to launch a project on health risk prevention against dengue fever and other vector-borne diseases at Cambodia’s Techo International Airport and the Funan Techo Integrated Water Resources Management project. Photo: GX Foundation
China-Latin America relations

Will Peru’s Chancay Port be the next ‘Panama moment’ for China?

The Chinese-invested facility is a flagship belt and road project in Latin America, a region the US sees as its backyard.

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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

Ex-Ecuador president calls bribery case over belt and road dam a ‘farce’

Lenin Moreno says corruption accusations are a vendetta orchestrated by former president and rival Rafael Correa.

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Former Ecuadoran president Lenin Moreno Garces in 2022. Photo: AFP
Belt and Road Initiative

China drops latest trade anchor in Latin America with new service to Peru megaport

Chancay port, a flagship Belt and Road project, is set to welcome its first direct shipment from Suzhou under the new service.

An aerial drone photo shows the vessel named “Xin Shanghai” operated by China Cosco Shipping Corporation docking at Chancay port, Peru, on November 25, 2024. Photo: Xinhua
Banking & finance

Qatari fund invests US$2 million in CK Asset-backed start-up Nexx

Doha-based Rasmal Ventures, backed by the Qatar Investment Authority, invests US$2 million in Hong Kong’s Nexx.

Belt and Road Initiative

As China’s ‘Air Silk Road’ grows, can homegrown C909, C919 jets take off abroad?

Beijing plans to deepen civil aviation ties under the Belt and Road Initiative, boosting air connectivity and exporting Comac-made aircraft.

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Belt and Road Initiative

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

The region received an ‘unusually high concentration’ of investment, particularly in metals and mining, new research has found.

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Under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, more investment and construction has been sent to Central Asia, with Kazakhstan the largest beneficiary. Photo: Xinhua
Belt and Road Initiative

Opinion | Israeli strikes one more challenge for new China-Iran rail corridor

Weeks before the air strikes, a new overland trade route was launched that could help Iran evade sanctions and advance its regional ambitions.

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Indonesia

Will Indonesia’s Whoosh extension to Surabaya be derailed by Chinese debt?

With the current US$7.3 billion rail line not projected to break even for 40 years, analysts are urging caution on an extension.

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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-Africa relations

New Chinese funding plan will help extend railway to Uganda, Kenya says

Mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo is China’s ‘pot of gold’ at the end of the Standard Gauge Railway, analyst says.

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Chinese workers on a section of the Standard Gauge Railway in 2018, before a presidential inspection of the Nairobi-Naivasha Phase 2A project. A Chinese consortium will provide 40 per cent of the funding for the 475km line from Naivasha to Malaba. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong economy

Can Hong Kong’s Hutchison ride out storm over Panama ports deal after Beijing attack?

Experts say Hutchison, part of tycoon Li Ka-shing’s empire, is now caught in a dilemma and might end up being punished by both the United States and China.

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China-Russia relations

‘Big impact’: Russian goods seizures cause havoc on China-Europe rail link

Freight companies ‘dare not’ use the railway after Russia tightened sanctions and impounded huge volumes of Europe-bound cargo.

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Hong Kong economy

Opinion | How Hong Kong can seize opportunities along Silk Road Economic Belt

By deepening cooperation, the city can leverage its unique brand and core advantages to help businesses uncover new areas for growth.

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Tourists taste grapes at the 30th China Silk Road Turpan Grape Festival in Xinjiang, on August 17. Turpan, China’s main grape producer, has more than 550 types, making it the “vineyard of the world”. As a renowned culinary capital and an international wine trading hub, Hong Kong is ideally positioned to showcase these products. Photo: Xinhua
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
Pakistan

18 killed in Balochistan attack on Pakistan paramilitary

A vehicle carrying unarmed Frontier Corps paramilitaries ‘came under gunfire from 70 to 80 armed assailants who had blocked the road’.

Thailand

Thailand’s fast train to China runs 9 years behind schedule

By 2030, the US$13 billion Thai network is expected to connect to the Laos-China high-speed railway via a bridge over the Mekong River.

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