One Belt–One Road (OBOR) / Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
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Conflicts - Tensions
PRC funding in doubt for Cambodian canal, other promised projects
FORUM Staff Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol said in May 2024 that a People’s Republic of China (PRC)-owned company would “totally” fund the Funan Techo canal. Phnom Penh touted the project linking the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand as an economic game changer. By August, Cambodian leader Hun Manet said at the project’s groundbreaking that the PRC…
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Conflicts - Tensions
CCP’s bid to train foreign police officers seen as latest ploy in quest for global control
FORUM Staff The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced a plan in early September 2024 to export its law and order model by training 3,000 police officers worldwide. The proposal from the CCP’s public service ministry may seem superficially attractive, when combined with offers of equipment, and especially to other authoritarian regimes that seek to emulate the CCP’s model of absolute…
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Climate
OBOR’s environmental costs continue to mount after a decade
FORUM Staff In the decade since Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping announced his One Belt, One Road (OBOR) infrastructure scheme, growing evidence shows that the program’s expansive projects often harm the environment. Through OBOR — Xi’s vision to increase the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) reach throughout the Indo-Pacific, Africa, Latin America and Europe — Beijing has distributed…
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Conflicts - Tensions
OBOR scheme turns PRC into world’s largest debt collector
FORUM Staff The People’s Republic of China (PRC) — the world’s second-largest economy — is now the world’s single-largest source of international debt, according to a new report from AidData, a United States-based research lab. AidData calculated that more than half of the loans Beijing has made as part of its One Belt, One Road (OBOR) infrastructure scheme have entered…
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Conflicts - Tensions
U.S. commits $553 million to Sri Lanka port expansion
FORUM Staff The United States International Development Finance Corp. (DFC) has committed more than $500 million toward development of a deep-water shipping container terminal in the Port of Colombo, Sri Lanka, the agency announced in November 2023. The $553 million package provides financing to Colombo West International Terminal Private Ltd. for the West Container Terminal. The project partners also include…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Unpacking China’s Economic Statecraft
Peter Connolly Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping met eight Pacific Island leaders in Port Moresby on November 16, 2018, and elevated their relationships to “comprehensive strategic partnerships.” Xi then encouraged those who had not joined his Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to do so. Papua New Guinea (PNG) had led the way by signing a BRI memorandum…
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South Asia
Sri Lanka hopeful of deals to overcome financial crisis
FORUM Staff Sri Lanka continues working to move past its worst financial crisis in decades through talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about a bailout agreement. The country also expects a debt relief deal with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), its largest creditor. Sri Lanka had U.S. $7.4 billion in outstanding Chinese debt by the end of 2021,…
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Conflicts - Tensions
As OBOR faces more hurdles, Xi may be eyeing another rebranding
FORUM Staff Nearly a decade after it was unveiled with much fanfare, Beijing’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) infrastructure scheme continues to trail controversy in its path, prompting speculation that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping is attempting yet another rebranding of his troubled signature policy as he wrestles with unprecedented domestic challenges. During an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation…
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Asymmetric Threats
One Road, Big Debts
Chinese Infrastructure Scheme Leaves Trail of Buyers’ Remorse
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Conflicts - Tensions
A Unified Multidomain Solution
INDIAN ARMY MAJ. GEN. (RET.) S B ASTHANA During a conversation with United States President Joe Biden, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping attempted to create the impression that a bipolar world order exists. Xi’s aggressive posturing during that November 2021 virtual summit was likely rejuvenated by his unchallenged mandate in the sixth plenary session of the CCP’s…
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