12-Apr-2019: Malaysia, China agree to resume railway project after slashing cost
Malaysia and China agreed to resume construction of a multi-billion dollar rail project, slashing nearly a third of the cost, after months of negotiations that strained ties between the two trade partners.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has vowed to renegotiate or cancel what he calls “unfair” Chinese projects authorized by his predecessor, Najib Razak.
The two sides have agreed to cut the cost of the 688-km (430-mile) rail project to 44 billion ringgit ($10.7 billion) from the original 65.5 billion ringgit. This reduction will surely benefit Malaysia and lighten the burden on the country’s financial position.
In January, the contractor China Communications Construction Co Ltd (CCCC) had offered to nearly halve the cost to save the project, known as the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL). In March, Malaysia’s representative in the talks, Daim Zainuddin, said they could include commercial elements that would benefit the southeast Asian nation, but he did not elaborate.
Launched in 2017, the centerpiece project of China’s Belt and Road program in southeast Asia aimed to link Malaysia’s east coast on the South China Sea with the busy waterway of the Malacca Strait on the west. But Malaysia suspended the project last July, after its cost ballooned amid a lack of transparency, threatening to saddle the country with uncomfortably large debt.
22-Mar-2019: Italy set to become first G7 country to join ‘Belt and Road’
Italy and China want to revive the spirit of the ancient Silk Road by deepening their trade and investment ties, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a trip to Rome. Mr. Xi is set to sign a deal on Saturday that will see Italy become the first member of the Group of Seven (G7) major industrialised nations to join China’s “Belt and Road” infrastructure project (BRI).
Besides the BRI accord, various deals worth up to €7 billion ($7.9 billion) are expected to be agreed, including agreements opening up the northern ports of Trieste and Genoa to Chinese containers.
Italy's populist government is eager for such initiatives to get underway swiftly as it battles to revitalise a sickly economy, which has slipped into its third recession in a decade.
Critics of the BRI say it is designed to bolster China's political and military influence, bringing little reward to other nations, and warn that it could be used to spread technologies capable of spying on Western interests.
6-Oct-2017: Bangladesh backs China’s OBOR
Bangladesh has come out in support of China’s ‘One-Belt-One-Road’ (OBOR) initiative, also known as the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI). This is in absolute contradiction to India’s stand on OBOR which it boycotted on grounds of violating India’s territorial integrity as it runs through the disputed territory of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and because China has not been transparent leading to compromise on sovereignty.
Bangladesh defends its move saying that small countries need to overcome few limitations by weaving themselves with the rest of the world with the help of projects such as OBOR.
10-Apr-2017: Silk Road' train sets off on 18-day journey from UK to China
A train loaded with British goods has set off on the first ever rail freight service from the UK to China, opening up a new international route for exports. It pulled away from Stanford-le-Hope in Essex to begin the 7,500-mile journey to Yiwu, where it is due to arrive 17 days later.
The departure came three months after the first freight service from China to the UK arrived in London as part of the revival of the ancient "Silk Road".
Whisky, soft drinks, vitamins, pharmaceuticals and baby products are among the items on board the 30 containers. The rail journey to China - the world's second biggest economy - is cheaper than sending freight by air and faster than voyage by ship.
Opening up the route is part of China's programme of reviving the ancient Silk Road trading routes between the East and the West. This is the first export train and just the start of a regular direct service between the UK and China.
Prime Minister Theresa May is looking to bolster relations with China - and other major trading powers - as the UK prepares for a future outside the European Union.