Tag - belt

 
 

BELT

Japan Times
COMMENTARY
Sep 1, 2020
‘Debt trap' diplomacy is a card China seldom plays in Belt and Road initiative
It’s taken as a given that the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), China’s effort to close the world’s multitrillion-dollar infrastructure gap, is an attempt to extend Beijing’s influence throughout the world by means fair and foul. One of the most incendiary charges is that China uses BRI funds to overwhelm recipient nations, drown them in debt and then seize collateral, often strategic assets, such as mineral resources or a port. Excessive debt can be a problem, but it is not the product of a Chinese strategy. Instead, a combination of “need and greed” among creditors and recipients is to blame. Japan and other countries should focus on those enduring problems rather than BRI.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 27, 2020
China Belt and Road plans for Australia face veto under new law
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is seeking new powers to veto or scrap deals that states reach with foreign powers, in a move aimed at China.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 14, 2020
Oddly shaped celestial body Arrokoth sheds light on planet formation
A vaguely hourglass-shaped icy object called Arrokoth residing in the far reaches of the solar system — the most distant body ever explored by a spacecraft — is giving scientists intriguing clues about the formation of the planets including Earth.
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2020
U.S. and Japan to cooperate on energy and infrastructure investment to vie with China's Belt and Road
The United States and Japan have signed an agreement to jointly encourage more private investment in energy and infrastructure projects, the U.S. Treasury said Tuesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 18, 2020
Myanmar and China agree to speed projects but ink no new deals
China and Myanmar inked dozens of deals on Saturday to speed up infrastructure projects as Beijing seeks to cement its hold over a neighbor increasingly isolated by the West.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 10, 2020
Japan-China political document to be unveiled during Xi's state visit
Japan and China have decided to craft a major political document that will lay the foundation for the two countries' future relations and are likely to unveil it when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Japan as a state guest in the spring, sources close to the matter said Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 9, 2019
Japanese defense report highlights China's growing energy ties with Central Asia
China is strengthening its energy ties with Central Asian countries through its Belt and Road regional development initiative, a Japanese Defense Ministry think tank has said.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2019
Beijing is determined to reshape the globe
The Belt and Road initiative seeks to remake Eurasia in China's image.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 17, 2019
Kenya opens $1.5 billion Chinese-built railway linking Rift Valley town and Nairobi
Kenya opened a $1.5 billion Chinese-built railway line linking Nairobi to Naivasha on Wednesday, despite delays in building an industrial park in the Rift Valley town to encourage freight.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 28, 2019
United Nations Development Program chief urges faster implementation of global development goals
Many countries will struggle to meet the majority of Sustainable Development Goals outlined by the United Nations Development Program at its current rate of implementation, its administrator, Achim Steiner, said Tuesday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Aug 11, 2019
Myanmar politicians take advantage of China's junket tours
The National League for Democracy was forged in an uprising against one-party rule. Its activists spent years in jail under Myanmar's military junta. But since taking power three years ago, the party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has found an unlikely ally — the Chinese Communist Party.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 20, 2019
China-backed Dara Sakor project in Cambodia rings alarm bells in Washington
Along pristine Cambodian beaches, past parades of elephants in its largest national park, sits an area half the size of Singapore that is raising alarm bells among military strategists in the U.S. and beyond.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / G20 Osaka
Jun 25, 2019
In blow to China, Japan's 'quality infrastructure' to get endorsement at Osaka G20
When world leaders adopt new international principles for "quality infrastructure" during the upcoming Group of 20 summit in Osaka, it will be the moment when Japan's flagship initiative will finally bear fruit after years in the making.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2019
China no match for Japan in Southeast Asia infrastructure race
Japan is still winning the Southeast Asia infrastructure race against China, with pending projects worth almost one and a half times its rival, according to the latest data from Fitch Solutions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 9, 2019
Kenya to upgrade old rail line to deliver Uganda link, shunning China-funded project
Kenya plans to modernize an old railway track to link a newer line to neighboring Uganda at a cost of $210 million, with funding from an unidentified private backer rather than building another modern one with Chinese money.
EDITORIALS
May 1, 2019
China reassesses its 'Belt and Road'
Japan should work with China to fill the yawning regional infrastructure gap, encouraging truly sustainable development that meets local needs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2019
With China in mind, Japan eyes new infrastructure investment rules for G20
The Abe government is considering proposing a set of rules for infrastructure investment in developing countries when Japan hosts the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June, after China has been criticized for engaging in "debt-trap" diplomacy with its aggressive project financing, according to sources.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Apr 28, 2019
Xi Jinping's wins and losses at second Belt and Road Forum
Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted some 5,000 delegates from across the globe at a Belt and Road Forum in Beijing last week to discuss his signature infrastructure project, which began in 2013 to rebuild ancient trading routes across Eurasia. This year's gathering eschewed the pageantry of the inaugural summit in 2017, as Beijing tried to address international criticism by toning down its rhetoric and tightening oversight.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 26, 2019
Xi tells summit that China's 'Belt and Road' initiative must be green and sustainable
China's "Belt and Road" initiative must be green and sustainable, President Xi Jinping said at the opening of a summit on his grand plan on Friday, adding that the massive infrastructure and trade plan should result in "high quality" growth for everyone.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 25, 2019
After Italy's backing of China's 'Belt and Road,' Abe stresses caution on infrastructure with Conde
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has moved on to the second and third legs of his six-nation European and North American tour with stops in Italy and Slovakia, where he met with the leaders of those two countries and others on Wednesday.

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces