United Kingdom: Spectrum of Cooperation

AS EVER-GROWING numbers of Chinese companies and individuals look overseas for investment opportunities, countries around the world are hoping to take advantage of the opportunities that this investment might bring. As such, when Wang Jianlin, China’s richest man, told the BBC in March of this year that the UK was the best place in the … Read more

The US$46 Billion Silk Handshake

The emerging Silk Road relationship between Pakistan and China is an Asian economic pact that is unprecedented in scope and impact. The importance of the China state visit to Pakistan in April 2015 was immediately apparent when the Air China flight carrying President Xi Jinping entered Pakistani airspace to be escorted by eight Pakistani Air … Read more

Questioning Victoria’s BRI Support

Victoria signed on to China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) without any consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. A spokesperson for the department noted that they were advised by Victoria the day that it was signed and announced. Victoria’s decision to join China’s BRI is not one that international partners are taking … Read more

Tesla Registers Construction Company

US EV maker Tesla Inc. has registered a construction company in China – the latest sign that the company is pushing forward at full force with its expansion plans in the world’s biggest auto market. According to China’s National Enterprise Information Publicity System, Tesla has opened a wholly owned construction unit in Shanghai with capital … Read more

Taikang Invests in Sotheby’s

Taikang Life Insurance Co. Ltd., one of China’s largest insurance companies, has secured a 13.5% stake in Sotheby’s, a broker of fine jewelry, real estate and collectibles. Taikang is now the auction house’s largest shareholder, ranking higher than top investors Third Point, BlackRock and Point 72 Asset Management. Taikang Chairman Chen Dongsheng has a “positive … Read more

Smooth as Silk, Paved in Gold

SITTING IN Ivan Khizkov’s gold-coloured Land Cruiser counting the kilometres roll by on a Silk Road highway built by China as part of an intense desire to crisscross the massive continent to Europe with road and rail, one could only marvel at the ambitious nature of the endeavour. This newly made Silk Road led to … Read more

China Eliminates “Weak Links”

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang vows to speed up major investment projects that create “weak links” in the economy, such as water conservancy, poverty alleviation and urban flood prevention. Li claims doing so is key to boosting demand and developing a proper context for China’s structural reform. “China is still a developing country with huge development … Read more

BoC Expands in Cambodia

The Bank of China (BoC) will expand its business in Cambodia by opening new branches in Siem Reap and Sihanoukville. The new units are expected to be complete this year, according to Chen Chang Jiang, CEO of BoC Phnom Penh branch. Though the BoC already has two branches in Phnom Penh, the new units will … Read more

Economies of Scale

WHEN Deng Xiaoping began steering China through a historic period of post-Mao economic reforms, he looked to the simple fishing town of Shenzhen as his proving ground. There, in May 1980, Deng established the first Special Economic Zone (SEZ), inaugurating an unprecedented phase of development made possible by the country’s turn towards “reform and opening”. … Read more