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Belt and Road

March

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said tariffs “are bad for business, and even worse for consumers”.

EU retaliates with tariffs on $45b of US goods

The European Union hit back against Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium within hours of them taking effect, escalating a global trade war.

January

Shoppers browse through an open air food market in Shanghai. Consumer sentiment has been weak.

China corporate profits set for third year of declines

The Asian giant is grappling with a two-speed economy, with strong exports offsetting weak domestic demand as households cope with a deep property slump.

October 2024

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Li Qiang have met five times.

China accuses Australia of war crimes, ‘systemic racism’

China’s foreign ministry’s sharp criticism comes after Australia’s UN ambassador called out China’s treatment of minority Uyghurs.

June 2024

Anwar Ibrahim, initially viewed by some political observers as pro-Western, has encouraged warmer relations with Beijing.

Premier Li Qiang’s visit has Malaysia wanting more from China pivot

The absence of President Xi Jinping, who sent his number two in his place, has dejected some in the government, according to Malaysian officials and observers.

Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat, before their peace plan fell apart in 2000.

Why Australia’s view of the Gaza war matters to Israel

Leading Israelis are aware of mistakes their country has made, and warn of a “volcanic eruption” against the Netanyahu government, but they have been blindsided by the rise in antisemitism in Australia.

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May 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping leave a concert marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and China.

China and Russia have one bed but different dreams

Russian weakness has enabled China to emerge as Eurasia’s dominant power. But it also limits the partnership of the two.

A Geely Zeekr 001 EV at the Zeekr Centre in Shanghai. The shift in the US approach towards China from engagement to full-throttle competition is no longer in doubt.

The US-China trade war has helped polarise ASEAN

Regardless of their alignment or dependence on one side or the other, South-East Asian states need to stay focused on their common regional interests.

March 2024

Part of the much-delayed, China-funded East Coast Rail Link project in Bentong, Malaysia.

‘Cost blowouts’: China fails to deliver megaprojects

China is unlikely to meet $77 billion in Belt and Road Initiative commitments in South-East Asia, research shows.

Arefeh 40-year-old, an Afghan woman leaves an underground school, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, July 30, 2022.

With Russia distracted, China makes its move in Central Asia

China is the only major country to recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan, a move that could give it access to large lithium and copper deposits.

Artist’s impression of the Australian Education City in East Werribee, near Melbourne.

Mystery lender chases ex-PwC staffer for $30m debt from failed project

Bill Zheng and his Investors Direct Financial group were part of a consortium that proposed to develop the $30 billion Australian Education City near Melbourne.

February 2024

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken  and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese embrace. But will the love always be there?

What’s Plan B if America never goes back to normal?

Paul Keating has once again asked whether the US alliance shapes Australia’s view of the world more than it should.

Suddenly, almost everywhere, opinion shapers and experts have been saying that the great Chinese growth engine is broken.

Why China can’t stop its decline

The conventional wisdom on China has shifted but still misses the bigger picture.

November 2023

Housing Industry Association data shared with PwC was breached.

Warning to developing countries over Chinese hacking

As Pacific leaders gather against the backdrop of China-US competition, a new report highlights how Chinese hackers managed to burrow into Cambodian networks.

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Indonesia’s president pushes US on what happened to the $31b

President Joko Widodo questions the West’s “commitment” to helping developing countries cut climate emissions.

October 2023

From left in front row: Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Putin, Xi and Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev with other leaders wave during a group photo session at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.

How Xi’s Belt and Road went from pet project to debt bomb

Ten years after its launch, Xi Jinping’s $1 trillion infrastructure project now boasts about 150 members and has made China the world’s largest creditor.

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September 2023

China bolsters ties with gas-rich Timor-Leste

China’s Xi Jinping has met with Timor-Leste’s Xanana Gusmao, promising greater economic cooperation, including possibilities for joint oil and gas exploration.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in New Delhi last weekend.

What was the point of Modi’s G20 summit?

India will tout the meeting as a victory, but the bloc remains deeply divided, which was demonstrated by Xi Jinping’s no-show.

China’s ghost cities cannot be filled by official exhortations.

China learns nothing from the financial crises of others

Beijing’s reluctance to bite the bullet on bad assets looks like an error that the whole global economy may pay for.

August 2023

Reinforcing connections: Anthony Albanese and Sitiveni Rabuka in Nadi in March.

How Fiji got a nasty lesson in Chinese authoritarianism

The Pacific nation watched in shock as Chinese security agents marched what it said were 77 criminal suspects onto a plane and flew them away for detention in China.

Youth unemployment in China hit a new high of 20.8 per cent.

US urges China to be transparent with key data

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Beijing’s crackdown on information is not “responsible”.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/belt-and-road-initiative-jle