The effect of Chinese investment on reducing CO2 emission for the Belt and Road countries

2020 ◽  
pp. 125125
Author(s):  
Xiaxiang Li ◽  
Changxin Liu ◽  
Fang Wang ◽  
Quansheng Ge ◽  
Zhixin Hao
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Emission ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Belt And Road ◽  
Reducing Co2 Emission

The Belt and Road Initiative and Myanmar: Challenges for Responsible Investment

2021 ◽  
pp. 2150011
Author(s):  
Linda Che-lan Li ◽  
Luo Man ◽  
Phyllis Lai-lan Mo ◽  
Jeffrey Shek Yan Chung
Keyword(s):  
Military Coup ◽  
Project Design ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Responsible Investment ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Project Costs ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Local Ecology ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Belt And Road

Chinese grand infrastructure projects in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) program are instrumental for Myanmar to bridge the voluminous bottlenecks in transportation and energy infrastructure essential for economic development. However, the high project costs as well as the project design and execution have raised skepticism over their benefits for Myanmar, in particular the economic viability and disruptive impacts for the local ecology and culture. The military coup in February 2021 in Myanmar deepened the skepticism to the Chinese and even outright hostilities to some projects. This paper reviews the broader context of the local receptions to the Chinese investment, drawing upon in-depth fieldwork in Myanmar, and suggests the potentials of leveraging Hong Kong’s managerial and professional experience in enhancing responsible investment in the BRI.

South American interoceanic transport corridors. An instrument of intra-regional integration and Chinese economic influence

2021 ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Pavel Kuchinov
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Global Market ◽  
South American ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Belt And Road

Since the XXI century the majority of South American countries call to create large integration transport corridors that provide interconnections between different parts of the region. The authors studied the projects of multimodal transport corridors implemented by the South American organization IIRSA (Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America), the purpose of which is the connection of the coasts of two oceans: the Atlantic and the Pacific. Analyzing the situation related to the latest Chinese investment and construction projects in South America within the framework of The Belt and Road Initiative, the authors question the feasibility and prospects the effectiveness of IIRSA's priority megaprojects. According to the developers, such initiatives, embodying infrastructure integration in the region, should contribute not only to the economic growth of the participating countries, but also to greater access to the global market for finance and services. The authors consider, although, that it is likely that this initiative risks being transformed into a tool for realizing China's economic and political interests.

Between Scylla and Charybdis? Emerging New Malaysia and Its Enigmatic Relations with China

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-235
Author(s):  
Emile Kok-Kheng Yeoh
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
National Front ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Belt And Road

Abstract This article traces the evolution of China-Malaysia relations under National Front Prime Minister Najib Razak and the Alliance of Hope Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. While the Belt and Road Initiative (bri) strengthened Beijing’s support of Najib’s kleptocratic regime in Malaysia, the 2018 general elections brought the anti-graft Alliance of Hope coalition led by Mahathir into power. Under Mahathir’s leadership, Malaysia cancelled several large-scale infrastructural projects like the East Coast Rail Link (ecrl), owing to their links with Najib’s 1mdb scandal and the unfavorable terms of the bri which put Malaysia severely in China’s debt. Although this curtailed Beijing’s use of Malaysia as a pawn in its goals in the region, it alienated some of the new Alliance of Hope’s supporters and saw the loss of much Chinese investment. However, Malaysia had already been caught in the bri’s web and Mahathir had to mend fences with Beijing by renegotiating better deals and redefining Malaysia’s relations with China. As Malaysia is geopolitically strategic to China’s extension of influence in Southeast Asia, Beijing willingly cut the ecrl cost by a third. It is in such context and with due consideration of the changing developments in the Alliance of Hope’s perception of Malaysia’s relations with China that this article will explore the enigmatic nature of China-Malaysia relations as the latter strives to protect its sovereignty against Chinese influence and Beijing continues to press its charm offensive through the bri.

Belt and Road will alter Asia's energy geography

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Electricity Provision ◽  
The Belt And Road

Subject The implications of the Belt and Road Initiative for the energy sector. Significance One of the aims of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is to increase the stability of the country's many neighbours by supporting their economic development, in part by developing their energy sectors. Improving China's own energy security is another. Impacts Electricity provision in BRI countries will improve, creating better conditions for industry and extending electrification programmes. BRI countries will become increasingly indebted to China, some of them unsustainably so. Chinese investment in power plants may encourage development of regional trading pools, encouraging development of an 'Asian supergrid'.

China’s COVID-19 aid may boost Mideast role, US clash

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Influence ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Strategic Partnership ◽  
Security Strategy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Health Leadership ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Economic Engagement ◽  
The Belt And Road

Significance This came during a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, who was seeking to negotiate a 25-year strategic partnership and move forward with collaboration on a COVID-19 vaccine. Beijing has been using pandemic aid in the region to limit reputation damage from being the virus’s origin -- and to further wider political objectives. Impacts The Middle East is important for China’s energy security strategy but will never become a global top destination for Chinese investment. Beijing’s regional focus in the post-COVID-19 era will be on investment and economic engagement, not primarily political influence. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) could be used as part of a means to seek global health leadership.

CO2 emission in transportation sector across 51 countries along the Belt and Road from 2000 to 2014

2020 ◽  
Vol 266 ◽  
pp. 122000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Wang ◽  
Jacob Wood ◽  
Yongjie Wang ◽  
Xinrui Geng ◽  
Xingle Long
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Emission ◽  
Transportation Sector ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Belt And Road

The Paradox of Chinese Investments in Sri Lanka: Between Investment Treaty Protection and Commercial Diplomacy

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 375-408
Author(s):  
Dilini PATHIRANA
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Investment Protection ◽  
Investment Treaty ◽  
State Orientation ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Asymmetrical Power ◽  
The Belt And Road

AbstractThe politically sensitive nature of Chinese investments in Sri Lanka has made investment protection by the China-Sri Lanka BIT highly relevant. However, the treaty has a pro-state orientation, with limited protection for investors. This gives rise to a modern paradox in which China has become the top investor in Sri Lanka, despite the absence of an international protective framework for their activities. Chinese investors are apparently managing this paradox mainly through commercial diplomacy. As an alternative to a rights-based approach, this may signal a return to a power-based approach to settling investment disputes, with the Chinese government a leading actor therein. This will be particularly prominent in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative. While win-win co-operation is a stated principle of Chinese investment policy, whether mutually beneficial outcomes can be sustained with the asymmetrical power dynamics between China and BRI states remains to be seen.

scholarly journals Chinese Investment Treaties in the Belt and Road Initiative Area

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-78
Author(s):  
Muthucumaraswamy Sornarajah
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Future ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Investment Treaties ◽  
The Belt And Road

Abstract This article examines whether Chinese practice towards the making of investment treaties with developing countries in the Belt and Road Initiative region will be different from the treaties that it makes with developed States. Though there is a shift towards the making of hard treaties with the developed States of Europe, it is suggested that treaties made with developing States will be more nuanced. The article shows that there are political motives behind investment treaties, as the study of US practice shows. Political considerations will induce China to make different types of treaties with different types of treaty partners in the future. A comparison is made with recent Indian practice.

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