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Infrastructure

Infrastructure
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Infrastructure. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Visitors cavort at the Wonsan Kalma tourist area in Kangwon province, North Korea, last year. Photo: Kyodo
North Korea

Foie gras, puppies and water parks: North Korea gets a glow-up

Kim Jong-un wants his middle class to splurge and is funding a splashy leisure boom to soak up their excess cash.

The Philippines

Philippines bets big on rail, but can it fix a broken transport network?

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China energy security

In Focus | Chinese coal mine gets hi-tech, green makeover with autonomous electric trucks

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Business of climate change

Exclusive | Beijing freezes plant approvals for energy-storage batteries

‘Dozens of new projects in the pipeline sparked policymakers’ fears about redundancies,’ analyst says.

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Battery-based energy-storage systems cache power created by renewable energy installations. Photo: Shutterstock
Hong Kong economy

In Focus | What’s a Northern Metropolis-like project doing in Malaysia? Lessons for Hong Kong?

Development of Malaysia’s Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis offers case study on mutual learning.

Banking & finance

Pooling power: how AIIB plans to quadruple capital for Asia’s infrastructure

The bank is building a pooled-capital platform to draw insurers, pension funds and other investors into Asia’s infrastructure debt.

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Belt and Road Initiative

Letters | Belt and Road Initiative is more than a trade and investment platform

Readers discuss how far the belt and road framework has come, the use of AI in official translations, and the start of the school year.

A Chinese communication engineer guides a Kenyan staff member on backup power replacement for the communication system at Mtito Andei station on the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya on July 23. The railway is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiaitve. Photo: Xinhua
Belt and Road 2026

Why Central Asia is turning to China for its renewable energy revolution

The Belt and Road Initiative, with its massive investments in wind, solar and nuclear power, is quietly reshaping the region’s energy future.

Belt and Road 2026

How Hong Kong can capitalise on Kazakh asset sales

The city’s deep capital markets and SOE listing expertise offer Central Asia’s largest economy a proven pipeline to global investors.

Belt and Road 2026

Bypassing Russia: inside China’s most audacious railway project in Central Asia

The challenging Belt and Road Initiative project offers a vital Middle Corridor route – linking China to Europe while bypassing Russia.

Projects like the cross-Mekong River bridge in Luang Prabang on the China-Laos Railway show China’s capacity to take on and successfully complete significant engineering works – something very much called for on the CKU line. Photo: Xinhua
The Philippines

Philippines wants to be a global semiconductor giant by 2030. Can it get there?

An ‘ambitious’ road map aims to more than double annual exports of chips and electronics to US$110 billion by 2030.

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A staff of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines shows chips manufactured in the country. Photo: AFP
Central Asia

China rallies Central Asian police chiefs on terrorism threats, energy and trade

Security ministers from five nations back Beijing initiative targeting extremism, border order and telecoms fraud.

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North Korea

North Korea, Russia open first road bridge in ‘new symbol of friendship’

The bridge can allow up to 300 vehicles to cross every day and will be linked ‌to Russia’s federal road network, says PM Mikhail Mishustin.

China consumption

Open Questions | Better social security is key to fixing China’s unbalanced economy: Lan Xiaohuan

The bestselling author also discusses how recent geopolitical events are shaping China and makes the case for a social safety net.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Artificial intelligence

Why China’s AI giants spend far less and still shrink compute gap with US rivals

Lower costs and faster growth rates let China’s AI firms narrow the divide, raising the question: does the spending gap still matter?

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US hyperscalers outspend their Chinese counterparts by a staggering margin, according to a report. Photo: Shutterstock
China travel

China to open missing link in 2,370km railway connecting Hong Kong and Beijing

Completing a vital transport corridor, the high-speed route aims to accelerate economic integration between southern business hubs and northern megacities.

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China trade

German companies want tougher EU-China policy despite supply chain reliance

The DIHK finds German firms facing Chinese competition back stronger EU action, but its trade chief warns against ‘blanket measures’.

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Banking & finance

China signals urgency over construction timelines amid investment decline

The NDRC urges faster work on major projects and the six networks initiative to reverse falling investment.

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Workers at a train station construction site for a train station in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on Wednesday. Photo: Getty Images
Hong Kong society

Letters | Queen Mary Hospital lift defects raise larger questions for Hong Kong

Readers discuss oversight of critical public infrastructure, a better development model for the Northern Metropolis, and a project in Hung Shui Kiu.

Mainland China

Pipes, power and petaflops: what’s behind China’s big ‘6 networks’ push

With US$1 trillion earmarked for this year alone, a look at where and why Beijing is investing, where progress stands and what comes next.

ByteDance

Exclusive | ByteDance to expand massive AI data centre cluster in Inner Mongolia: source

As Chinese tech giants ramp up artificial intelligence spending, TikTok’s parent company is set to expand data centres in Ulanqab.

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The ByteDance logo is seen at the company’s office building in Shanghai. Photo: Reuters
China's economic recovery

Inner Mongolia pitches affordable homes, fast train to lure Beijing commuters

The region is highlighting commuter transit times and booming AI economy to entice the capital’s residents.

A view of Hohhot, in China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Photo: Getty Images
China trade

China’s US$10.8b short cut: new Pinglu Canal prepares to supercharge Asean trade

Delivery of first command vessel looks to signal imminent opening of megaproject connecting inland factories directly to Southeast Asian markets such as Vietnam.

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Vietnam

South China Sea island build-up heightens Vietnam’s security concerns

Hanoi voices strong objections after reports emerge about Chinese construction works in the Paracels archipelago.

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Belt and Road Initiative

How China’s rail diplomacy could shield regional supply chains from shocks

China’s Kyrgyzstan rail pledge highlights wider drive to knit Asia together and strengthen trade links.

President Xi Jinping and Kyrgyz counterpart Sadyr Japarov sign a joint declaration on the development of the China-Kyrgyzstan partnership on Monday. Photo: Xinhua
South Korea

South Korea sets record US$600 billion budget, backed by chip windfall

The spending plan ‌represents a 12.8 per cent rise from 2026, marking the largest year-on-year increase in the country’s history.

A man uses his mobile phone with the construction site of the Yongin semiconductor cluster in the background on July 21. Photo: Reuters
China’s economic stimulus

China to speed up bond issuance after national meeting on investment: analysts

The fixed-income securities are to be used to fund national infrastructure and construction ventures to boost the economy.

Belt and Road Initiative

In Focus | Can Beijing’s gateway plan for Tibet survive geopolitics and natural disasters?

Beijing hopes trade will stabilise Tibet, but friction with India and the looming Dalai Lama succession are hampering its efforts.

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