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As the challenges facing China’s BRI multiply, the initiative’s links to international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the AIIB

The anticipated economic and strategic windfall from environmental change in the Arctic has spurred China to officially enunciate an Arctic policy. Ke

Gone are the days, when Latin America used to be an insignificant region for China, over fears of antagonising the US. Today, Latin America has outpac

The dragon has officially risen. But as China spreads its reach and influence beyond its borders through the Belt and Road Initiative, implementation

Trump is a short-term problem. The China challenge — on the other hand — is a continuing and long-term problem.

The BRI initiative sits perfectly to balance two strategic objectives by leveraging China’s economic might and using it as in instrument to advance

Chinese and not Indian firms will become more prominent in the neighbourhood, cashing in on their willingness and urgency to join OBOR.

China expects to sign BRI agreements with nearly 20 countries and more than 20 international organisations at the forum.

Cherry-pick the BRI and look for business opportunities that can be fruitfully exploited

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is central to the country’s ambitious policy reorientation. The energy sector accounts for nearly 40 percent of all investments under the BRI, with significant geostrategic and geoeconomic implications. In recent years, China has adopted a “greening the BRI” strategy, emphasising green energy projects. This brief analyses China’s BRI investments in the energy sector to establish the potential trend

Over the last two decades, China has established a significant economic presence in most African countries. Its lucrative economic investment package, flexible political approach, and focused big-ticket development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) provide an ostensibly massive opportunity to African countries. However, the unilateral nature of the initiative, the lack of transparency and accountability to African countries, and t

The Narendra Modi government's decision to boycott the Belt and Road Initiative Forum in China constitutes one of the three biggest Indian foreign policy risks in recent memory.

For the moment, it is Southeast Asia and Central Asia that are at the centre of BRI and that have embraced the project wholeheartedly

With a number of African countries reworking their energy basket, Beijing could emerge as the partner country of choice

As geopolitical tensions rise, African nations are increasingly aligning with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Global Security Initiative. The framework, which promotes non-interference, respecting sovereignty, and development-focused security, is appealing to African countries as an alternative to Western-led interventions. Through military cooperation, peacekeeping missions, counterterrorism assistance, and non-conditional security aid, among o

Nepal signed the framework agreement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with China in May 2017. Of the initial 35 projects that Nepal had proposed, the final number eventually came down to nine. Seven years later, none of the BRI projects have been completed. In 2023, the tenth year of the BRI, controversies surrounding China’s attempt to co-opt even ‘non-BRI’ projects under the framework, and Nepal’s efforts to secure more grants inst

China has twice broached the matter of expanding the membership of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa): first, at the 2017 Xiamen Summit, and again, more recently, at the 14th BRICS Leaders’ Meeting in June 2022 convened virtually under the chairmanship of Beijing. With China and India locked in a stalemate along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Chinese proposal has raised concerns in New Delhi. This brief examine

Since 1991, New Delhi's ties with the Central Asian countries have developed slowly despite a shared culture and trade links via the ancient Silk Road

Over the last five years, Brexit, the victory of Donald Trump in the US and the assumption of power by Xi Jinping in China, the seizure of Crimea and the Ukrainian crisis, the South China Sea disputes, and the emerging Iran crisis, have all helped upend the world order. Amidst these crises, the surge of Chinese acquisitions and investments in Europe did not draw much attention. The acrimony, however, between China and the US on trade and industri

Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed bilateral relations in March 2023, following a deal brokered by China and ending a hiatus of seven years. The diplomatic breakthrough underlined Beijing’s political inroads into the Middle East. Indeed, China’s relations with Iran have grown in recent years due to an alignment in their geopolitical interests, while China-Saudi Arabia relations have also notably strengthened. The deepening of the strategic partner

Beijing's expanding footprint in this oil-rich region has set the stage for a competition with Washington

China, a late entrant in Latin America, has now emerged as the region’s major economic partner. Bilateral trade between the two stands today at more than USD 200 billion. By augmenting investments and trade in Latin America, Beijing has managed to project itself as an alternative to the United States, which had previously enjoyed overarching influence in the region. The US’ inability to lead Latin America into a path of sustainable econ

The last India-Africa Forum Summit took place in New Delhi way back in 2015, and significant shifts in global geopolitics and geoeconomics have occurred since then.

China’s growing economic footprint around the world is being followed by its military footprint — a reality of great power politics.

Other than dangling a cheque book, Beijing seems risk averse and has few answers to long-standing geopolitical flashpoints

Tweaking BRI policy to allay fears of reluctant countries

China wants to move its manufacturing up the value chain to become a producer and exporter of high-value goods, for which Europe can be the best market.

For China, it is the problems in what it considers to be its core interests which are becoming difficult to handle.

Beijing’s Southeast Asia outreach may complicate the U.S.’s efforts to build a coalition to isolate or deter China economically.

Since the onset of the twenty-first century, China has employed various instruments of exchange diplomacy to overcome its historical 'century of humiliation’ and realise its 'Middle Kingdom’ dream. Riding on the platform of the Belt and Road Initiative, China has leveraged its strong economy and large human resources through tourism, education, and sister-city arrangements to strengthen people-to-people contact between its citizens, diaspora,

The biggest concern about the BRI is that it is a means of cementing Chinese economic hegemony and, in the process, challenges the foundations of the extant liberal economic order.

In recent years, China has increasingly invested in West Africa to further its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, diversify its supply chains, and acquire critical minerals and raw materials for its domestic industries. Indeed, China sees immense potential in West Africa for the region’s ability to provide a secure supply of critical minerals and energy resources insulated from the West. Beijing is now the region’s largest bilateral trading

In recent years, China has increasingly invested in West Africa to further its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, diversify its supply chains, and acquire critical minerals and raw materials for its domestic industries. Indeed, China sees immense potential in West Africa for the region’s ability to provide a secure supply of critical minerals and energy resources insulated from the West. Beijing is now the region’s largest bilateral trading

India’s ties with Europe have grown notwithstanding its stance on Russia over Ukraine

Sittwe Port in Myanmar’s Rakhine State is part of India’s Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project. It connects India’s northeastern states to the Bay of Bengal, advancing the country’s Act East policy and strengthening regional connectivity. Operational since May 2023, the port has handled over 109,000 tonnes of cargo so far, showcasing its potential to bolster trade. However, challenges to the port’s commercial viability persist,

China’s growing influence in Nepal is a strategic concern for India

With Male facing increasing domestic and foreign policy challenges, Mohamed Muizzu is possibly aiming at a reconciliation with India