#Newspaper

Canada needs to clarify foreign takeover rules amid heightened risk of state-led acquisitions, committee told

//potential takeovers by Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are particularly worrisome, as they could be used on behalf of the Communist Party of China to advance its foreign strategic interests.

//Ottawa has for years struggled to strike a balance between attracting foreign investment and fending off politically-motivated takeovers by foreign states. Those concerns reached new highs in 2013 when Ottawa threatened to reject — but ultimately approved — China’s $15-billion purchase of oilsands giant Nexen. More recently, in 2018, the Liberal government rejected the takeover of Canadian construction firm Aecon by a Chinese SOE, citing national security risks.

//Burton on Monday reiterated concerns about Chinese-led takeovers in strategic assets like energy or telecommunications. Many investments made by Chinese firms are done purely out of strategic, rather than commercial interests, he said — like those being pursued under China’s Belt and Road initiative.

//Those projects have increasingly come in the form of “debt trap diplomacy,” Burton said, in which the Chinese government loans money to struggling states under harsh terms, as part of a long-term plan to take over the asset at a later date.

//In April, Industry Minister Navdeep Bains put forward policy changes allowing Ottawa to more closely scrutinize “investments of any value, controlling or non-controlling” by foreign companies, particularly those involving public health or the supply of critical goods and services. He also removed thresholds for reviewing investments in any sector by state-owned or state-connected entities.

//tightening language around what constitutes a strategic interest could prove challenging, as it would force Ottawa to effectively choose essential versus non-essential industries.

Full article: Sherwood Park News, (8 Jun)

#Pandemic #Canada #ForeignTakeover #StateLedAcquisition #BeltAndRoad #NationalSecurity

#Newspaper

Myanmar calls out China for arming terror groups, asks world to help

//Myanmar, China’s closest ally in southeast Asia, has pointed fingers at Beijing for arming insurgent groups with sophisticated weapons and sought international cooperation to suppress rebel groups... Myanmar’s Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said terrorist organisations active in Myanmar are backed by ‘strong forces’

//the army chief was referring to Arakan Army (AA) and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), terrorist organisations active in the Rakhine State in western Myanmar that borders China.

//The Myanmarese ethnic rebel groups operating along the Chinese border mostly use Chinese weapons, prompting suspicions about Beijing’s role as part of an effort to keep Myanmar under control.

//Officials say Beijing has been desperate to push the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor that seeks to give China a strategic opening on to the Bay of Bengal and eastern part of Indian Ocean Region. There has also been some concern around the Chinese loans extended to execute these projects that led to worries that Myanmar shouldn’t land in China’s debt trap.

Full article: Hindustan Times, (02-Jul)

#Myanmar #China #TerrorGroups #Loan #MilitarySupport #BeltAndRoad

China is paving its “belt and road” to British Columbia

The “World Commodity Trade Center”, including four warehouses and two large exhibition halls, is a joint venture between a Chinese-sate sponsored company and a local development firm.

A trailblazing memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) between the B.C. government and Guangdong province in 2016 precedes the project. Most Western Jurisdictions have been apprehensive of Xi’s aspirations of emboldening China’s national and economic interests on a global scale, via the BRI’s foreign infrastructure investments and overseas financial, social and cultural programs.

Guo Taicheng, chairman of Shing Kee Godown Group and Canadian’s permanent resident, is leading this project. He is also executive vice-president of the China Federation of Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs, which is part of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese (AFROC) of the CCP’s United Front.

Source: Tricity News #Aug17

https://www.tricitynews.com/china-is-paving-its-belt-and-road-to-british-columbia-1.24187665/

#Canada #China #BRI #CCP #BeltandRoad

British Thinktank Urges UK to Focus on Indo-Pacific Region

An influential centre-right British thinktank recently published a report proposing the UK's strategic policies on the Indo-Pacific region focusing on military, financial and diplomatic resources on building up democratic power against China's growing impact on world order. The report also recommends the UK government to support Hong Kong's autonomy and freedoms promised in the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

The report was published by Policy Exchange's Indo-Pacific Commission, chaired by former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and endorsed by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and current Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. With the publishing of this report expects closer collaboration between Britain and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region, including Australia, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Together, they make up nearly half of the global economic output and comprise of more than half of the world population.

The report points out the UK government should expand the deployment of Royal Navy assets, Royal Air Force aircraft and Army (including Special Forces) or Royal Marines personnel to achieve uninterrupted and year-round UK military presence in the Indo-Pacific Region on operational and training missions. The City of London would offer its financial muscle through an Indo-Pacific investment initiative to set up a clean alternative to the Chinese belt and road initiative. It is also suggested to create an Indo-Pacific multinational investment treaty to protect investors from Chinese discriminatory practices and allow investors to enter into arbitration under international law.

Source: Apple Daily #Nov25

https://bit.ly/2IDPJdm

#UK #IndoPacific #PolicyExchange #BeltAndRoad

Australian Economy Is Too Dependent on China and Needs Diversification, Says Senate Opposition Leader

Under Australia's new foreign relations law, which allows the federal government to veto pacts between states and overseas governments or institutions, it is expected that agreements on the ‘Belt and Road’ (‘B&R’) initiative and Confucian Institutes between local governments and China will be voided. Penny Wong, leader of the opposition Labor Party in the Senate, said on 7 December that she hopes the federal and Victorian governments will have “sensible discussions” regarding the latter’s ‘B&R’ agreement. While stressing the need for a new economic strategy where Australia will work with other countries, Wong fell short of signalling a revocation of Victoria’s ‘B&R’ agreement.

As Victoria’s ‘B&R’ agreement with China faces the prospect of being suspended, Wong said in an interview with the ABC that she thinks the federal government “should try to resolve this in a way that respects engagement with the state government and that recognises that China will observe how this is handled carefully”.

Adding that the Labor Party supports the Liberal government in opposing Victoria’s ‘B&R’ initiative, Wong did not indicate specifically that the agreement will be unilaterally cancelled. Wong suggested that instead of considering how Australia can fix its relationship with China, it needs a strategy to diversify its economy and cooperate with other countries in the region given that it is now too reliant on China.

Source: Stand News #Dec07

#Australia #Victoria #China #OneBeltOneRoad #BeltAndRoad #PennyWong #Labor #Diplomacy #Economy #Trade

https://bit.ly/38ES1Sa

China's New Belt and Road Has Less Concrete, More Blockchain

The Covid-19 pandemic hasn’t been good for China’s Belt and Road Initiative. the virus “seriously affected” one-fifth of the projects in the China-centered infrastructure drive, according to the Ministry of foreign Affairs. Djibouti, Laos, Maldives, Pakistan, and Zambia, among others, have asked China to renegotiate or forgive Belt and Road loans. Kyrgyzstan and Sri Lanka have already extracted concessions.

Source: Bloomberg #Mar24

#China #BeltandRoad #Djibouti #Laos #Maldives #Pakistan

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-24/china-s-new-belt-and-road-has-less-concrete-more-blockchain

China indefinitely suspends Strategic Economic Dialogue, accuse Australia's “Cold War mindset” for disrupting normal exchanges

China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued a statement on Thursday (5 May), saying that it has decided to suspend the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue indefinitely due to Australian government's measures to disrupt the normal exchanges and cooperation out of “Cold War mindset and ideological discrimination”. This is the first diplomatic mechanism that has been formally frozen since the relationship between the two countries deteriorated.

The relation between China and Australia continues to be tense, Australia has been criticizing China on human rights issues in Hong Kong and Xinjiang for many times. Last month the Australian Federal Government cancelled the “Belt and Road” agreements between Victoria state government and China. ABC quoted the analysis saying that it caused China's discontent.

“Some Australian Commonwealth government officials launched a series of measures to disrupt the normal exchanges and cooperation between China and Australia out of Cold War mindset and ideological discrimination”, said NDRC in a statement. It declared that the decision is “based on the current attitude of the Australian Commonwealth Government toward China-Australia cooperation”, and decides to indefinitely suspend all activities under the framework of the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue.

Source: The Stand News #May06

https://bit.ly/2SVdK4k

#China #Australia #Economic #Diplomatic #BeltAndRoad #Xinjiang #HongKong #HumanRights #ABC

The US supports Australia in repealing the “Belt and Road” agreement, saying Australia is the victim of China’s coercive diplomacy

Australian federal government repealed “Belt and Road” memorandum and “framework agreement” between the Victorian state government and China. The decision has caused China discontent and renewed tension between China and Australia. United Stated indicated their support to Australia’s decision on Thursday (22 April), described Australia as a victim of China’s coercive diplomacy, which borne tremendous toll.

On Wednesday (21 April), Australian Foreign Minister Payne used her powers conferred by Foreign Affairs (State and Territorial Arrangements) Act 2020 passed late last year, to cancel the “Belt and Road” memorandum and “framework agreement” between Victorian state government and China. US Spokesperson of State Council Ned Price, when asked whether US will take a similar action, or has US spoken to Australia about the move during regular press conference, responded “this is a decision made by the Australian Government”. He continued by saying that US will continue to stand with the people of Australia for the brunt of the PRC’s coercive behavior. Price said that Australia government's cancellation of agreements with China, Iran and Syria demonstrated that Australia is focused on protecting its national interest from all international concerns.

Source: Stand News #Apr23

https://bit.ly/3v6gIRD

#US #Australia #BeltandRoad #Victim #China #Diplomacy

Taliban calls China its “most important partner”, vows support for Belt and Road

The Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid has called China the group’s “most important partner” in an interview with the Italian newspaper la Repubblica. This was the first time a Taliban representative openly declares China to be its most significant ally.

In the interview, Mujahid said China is ready to invest in and rebuild Afghanistan and called it an “extraordinary opportunity”. The spokesperson also said the Taliban is following the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative closely. Noting Afghanistan’s rich copper reserves, he said the country will be modernized, “thanks to China”.

“China is our pass to markets all over the world.”

Mujahid’s comments came before the Taliban announced a new government in Afghanistan. Previously named a contender for the head of the administration, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, chief of the Taliban’s political commission and leader of the group’s recent delegation to Beijing, was appointed the acting first deputy prime minister.

Source: Stand News #Sep03

https://bit.ly/39e5tx9

#Taliban #China #Afghanistan #BeltAndRoad #Diplomacy

Cambodia: China’s ‘Belt and Road’ Dam is a Rights Disaster

A large-scale, Chinese-financed hydroelectric dam in northeastern Cambodia, completed in 2018, has undermined the lives and livelihoods of thousands of Indigenous and ethnic minority people, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Lower Sesan 2 dam, one of Asia’s widest dams, flooded large areas upstream of the confluence of the Sesan and Srepok Rivers, two tributaries of the Mekong River.

Source: Human Rights Warch #Aug10

https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/08/10/cambodia-chinas-belt-and-road-dam-rights-disaster

#China #BeltAndRoad #Sesan #Srepok #Mekong

ADB: China Can Probably Stand On Its Own

In a sign of China's rising strength, the Asian Development Bank announced it may stop lending to the world's second largest economy.

The Asian Development Bank, the Manila-headquartered multilateral lender, may end loans to China in a move being characterized as more about the maturity of China’s economy—now the world’s second-largest—than political posturing. In a recent interview, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said a reassessment of whether China still meets the development criteria for further loans could start as early as next year.

Some analysts say the move has a political dimension and is symbolic of the estrangement between China and the West as well as a tectonic shift in geopolitical alliances. In 2016 China created its own infrastructure bank—the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank—but the US and Japan notably declined to join. At just under 7%, Russia is the third-largest contributor to the AIIB’s coffers, after China and India, according to the AIIB’s website.

Although the AIIB’s role in has been described as complementary to ADB’s, the fact that it is offering financial assistance to other countries calls into question China’s need for further aid. When development loans are monopolized by economic superpowers, it promotes economic imbalances that hold countries back, says David Baxter, a sustainable development consultant.

“It is important that aid loans go to countries that really need it,” he says. “China does not.”

source: Global Finance #Sep15

https://www.gfmag.com/magazine/september-2022/china-asia-development-bank-loans-end

#Sept1 #ChinaEconomy #BeltAndRoad

Uganda suspended a "Belt and Road" essential constructions

#Reuter reported that #Uganda has suspended an essential construction under China's Belt-and-Road initiatives, spoken by a Uganda official.

Uganda originally planned to build a railway to #Kenya with China Harbour Enginering Company (#CHEC) in 2015. The project is expected to cost USD$2.2 million. Unlike other narrow track railway in Africa,  this railway project complies to the international construction standard. However, Uganda didn't receive any fund from China under the Belt and Road policy.

Uganda was forced to stopped the plan with CHEC and is considering to continue the project with Yapi Merkezi, a Turkish company.

#Uganda #Kenya #China #BeltandRoad #CHEC

Source: Common #Jan15
http://cmmns.co/RApYN