COMMENTARIES

workers clean the surface of Thang Long bridge

4 Jun 2021

Vietnam’s Tentative Approach to Regional Infrastructure Initiatives

Do Mai Lan|Hoang Oanh

It is estimated that Vietnam will need approximately US$480 billion in infrastructure investment from 2017 to 2030. But despite funding difficulties and the presence of several foreign-backed infrastructure initiatives in the region, Vietnam’s leadership has adopted a cautious stance.

Chinese workers building the first rail line linking China to Laos

18 Jan 2021

Official Chinese Lending: Why the Easy Money is Drying Up

Muhammad Saad Siddiqui

A new study suggests that official Chinese lending has dropped in recent years. This stems from lessons learnt after a decade of mistakes in overseas lending. Despite the decline, the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative shows no signs of slowing.

Belt and Road Initiative China Southeast Asia

A medical worker shows a syringe with the Sinovac Biotech vaccine

11 Jan 2021

Wang Yi’s African Tour: What it Means for Southeast Asia

Lye Liang Fook

Wang Yi’s first overseas trip this year to Africa has implications for Southeast Asia.

Africa Belt and Road Initiative China COVID-19

A Chinese worker carries materials for the first rail line linking China to Laos

8 Jan 2021

Seeing Through Smoke: Why the Debt-Trap Narrative Is a Distraction

Muhammad Saad Siddiqui

The Belt and Road Initiative is many things, but there is little evidence that it is a debt trap. Observers should dispense with this grand narrative and focus on how to engage with the nuances of Chinese lending.

Belt and Road Initiative Cambodia China Laos

14 Oct 2020

Welcome and Vet: Investments from China in Southeast Asia

Victor Teo

In this geostrategic climate, Southeast Asian countries should welcome rather than reject investment from China for their own developmental needs. This is likely to entice competing investments from the West and Japan.

Belt and Road Initiative Cambodia

5 Aug 2020

India and China: Finding the Balance between Cooperation and Competition

Muhammad Saad Siddiqui

New Delhi wants to be a significant player in Myanmar. To achieve this, it needs to do more on its own and also consider working with others. One application of this would be leveraging on China’s BRI projects.

Belt and Road Initiative India-Myanmar Relations

8 Oct 2019

Vietnam’s Infrastructure Development Dilemma: The China Factor

Le Hong Hiep

Hampered by a lack of capital funding, Vietnam is faced with the dilemma of balancing the country's infrastructure development needs with the economic and security concerns of accepting loans and investments from China.

Belt and Road Initiative China-Vietnam Relations Infrastructure Vietnam

15 Mar 2018

China’s New International Development Cooperation Agency and Foreign Aid

Lye Liang Fook

China has created the International Development Cooperation Agency to integrate and strengthen its foreign aid programme, so as to ensure the success of projects under the Belt and Road Initiative. Whether the IDCA will be able to help achieve these goals remains to be seen.

Belt and Road Initiative China Foreign Aid

9 Jun 2017

Why was Thailand’s Prime Minister Absent in the Belt and Road Initiative Summit?

Pongphisoot Busbarat

Thailand's perceived marginalisation from China's high-profile Belt and Road Initiative Summit has been attributed to problems in the Sino-Thai high-speed railway project and the Thai Prime Minister's acceptance of the US President's invitation to visit the White House. The diplomatic snub suggests that Southeast Asian states need a more careful hedging strategy to deal with China.

Belt and Road Initiative China-Thai Relations Thailand