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Belt and Road

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Holding all the cards

Laos looks for ways to counterbalance China’s rising economic influence
Dec 1, 2017 (WiC 390)

There are five ‘officially’ Communist countries left in the world and China and Laos are two of them. So perhaps it’s surprising that it had been 11 years since a senior Chinese leader visited the small, landlocked nation. That ...

Dam those deals

Pakistan and Nepal snub Belt and Road projects
Nov 24, 2017 (WiC 389)

It’s been a terrible month for Chinese hydropower projects in South Asia. On November 13 Nepal announced its government was cancelling an agreement with Gezhouba Three Gorges to build a 1,200 megawatt dam across the Budhi Gandaki ...

A Shenzhen for Arabia

Saudi plans $500 billion new city – expect China to play a key role
Nov 3, 2017 (WiC 386)

A month ago the government of Saudi Arabia made a historic decision to allow women to drive. Last week it also announced that females will be allowed into sports stadiums for the first time too. But the female who has been given the most ...

Many happy returns

Four years since its launch, how is Belt and Road progressing?
Oct 27, 2017 (WiC 385)

Four years ago Xi Jinping formally launched his Belt and Road Initiative while on a trip to Central Asia. Chinese acquisitions in the 68 countries associated with his signature foreign policy had this year surpassed $33 billion by August, which ...

Legend buys Luxembourg’s oldest private bank
Sep 15, 2017 (WiC 380)

Throughout its history, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has been subject to the push and pull of competing regional powers including the Dutch, Belgians, Germans and French. During the nineteenth century, in particular, the territory ended up ...

Kim crashes party

Pyongyang upstages BRICS Summit
Sep 8, 2017 (WiC 379)

For an acronym to be memorable it should spell something recognisable. So, by that logic the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – were always missing a K. Well this weekend they got one, when North Korea ...

Fosun pairs up with state partners in new round of overseas bids
Aug 25, 2017 (WiC 377)

After kicking off the new football season with three consecutive victories, Wolverhampton Wanderers have been made favourites for promotion to the elite English Premier League by local bookmakers such as Ladbrokes. Backed by the club’s new ...

A debt to the planet

China has become a leader in the green bond market says HSBC’s French
Jul 7, 2017 (WiC 373)

Ten years ago this week the first ever green bond was issued by the European Investment Bank (EIB) – with a goal of growing a new financial market that helped lower carbon emissions. Since then green bonds have grown into a major source of ...

Li Shufu’s great car chase

Geely swoops for James Bond carmaker as its bid to go global continues
Jun 2, 2017 (WiC 368)

The cachet of carmaker Lotus likely peaked in 1977 when its Esprit model featured in The Spy Who Loved Me. The sleek white sports car was modified to do all sorts of things for James Bond, such as spraying oil into the path of chasing vehicles. ...

Silky persuasion

Differing media views as delegates meet for Xi Jinping’s signature summit
May 19, 2017 (WiC 366)

Hong Kong may soon get its own offshoot but the first permanent ‘branch’ of Beijing’s Palace Museum was opened on Xiamen’s Gulangyu island last week. The satellite venue will exhibit some of the Forbidden City’s collection of 13,000 ...

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