Can the West dismantle China’s pan-Asian railway dream?

Fast train plans are a concern for Western nations worried about China’s growing influence in the region. There is something awfully permanent about a train line once it’s in.

Emma ConnorsSenior editor and writer

Jul 29, 2022 – 10.43am

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Singapore | You wouldn’t want to be the foreman overseeing the construction of the high-speed rail link between Jakarta and the Indonesian city of Bandung. The project has never gone smoothly. Now, not one, but two, world leaders have their eye on you.

On Tuesday afternoon in Beijing, Indonesia’s Joko Widodo and China’s Xi Jinping agreed the project would be “completed on schedule as a flagship project”.

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Emma ConnorsSenior editor and writerEmma Connors was South-east Asia correspondent from October 2019 until mid-2023, based in Jakarta and Singapore. She has previously edited Perspective and Opinion and has written extensively across the AFR and related titles.