Gene Ching
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Speaking of Silat, READ The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 27: Wushu in Indonesia by Greg Brundage
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Gene Ching
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Silat revisited - READ The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 28: Wushu in Indonesia Continued by Greg Brundage
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Gene Ching
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When Wushu Crosses the Silk Road: READ The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 29: The Shanghai 15th World Wushu Championships by Greg Brundage
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Gene Ching
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Shanghai & Silk. READ The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 30: The Shanghai 15th World Wushu Championships Continued by Greg Brundage
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Gene Ching
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Muay Thai and Gems. READ The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 31: Wushu in Thailand by Greg Brundage
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Gene Ching
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Nevermind Muay Thai. Thai Wushu! READ The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 32: Wushu in Thailand Continued by Greg Brundage
Gene Ching
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On the Road Again. READ The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 33: Ancient and Modern Roots of Kung Fu Legacy in Hong Kong by Greg Brundage
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An Ip Man disciple. READ The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 34: Kung Fu in Hong Kong - Interview with Wing Chun Sifu Sam Lau by Greg Brundage
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A first-hand account. READ Battling COVID-19 in Beijing by Greg Brundage
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ThreadsJUNE 18, 2020 / 8:53 PM / 4 DAYS AGO
China says one-fifth of Belt and Road projects 'seriously affected' by pandemic
2 MIN READ
BEIJING (Reuters) - About 20% of projects under China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to link Asia, Europe and beyond have been “seriously affected” by the coronavirus pandemic, an official from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
According to a survey by the ministry, about 40% of projects have seen little adverse impact, and another 30-40% have been somewhat affected, said Wang Xiaolong, director-general of the ministry’s International Economic Affairs Department, at a news briefing in Beijing.
“About 20% percent of the projects have been seriously affected,” he said. Wang did not give any details.
The results from the survey were better than expected and although some projects had been put on hold, China had not heard of any major projects being cancelled, he added.
Over 100 countries have signed agreements with China to cooperate in BRI projects like railways, ports, highways and other infrastructure. According to a Refinitiv database, over 2,600 projects at a cost of $3.7 trillion are linked to the initiative.
Restrictions on travel and the flow of goods across borders, as well as local measures to combat COVID-19, were the main reasons for the impacts on projects, said Wang.
“As the situation improves we have confidence that the projects will come back and the execution of them will speed up,” he said.
The challenge of the pandemic to BRI projects follows a pushback in 2018, when officials in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and elsewhere criticized projects there as costly and unnecessary.
China scaled back some plans after several countries sought to review, cancel or scale down commitments, citing concerns over costs, erosion of sovereignty, and corruption.
(This story adds dropped words in lead paragraph)
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Gene Ching
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G& = Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
G-7 wants to rival China’s Belt and Road plan — but it won’t stop Beijing, expert says
PUBLISHED MON, JUN 14 20212:55 AM EDT
Yen Nee Lee
@YENNEE_LEE
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The Group of Seven wealthy nations have agreed to set up an infrastructure plan to compete with China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative.
The plan is not intended to stop the Belt and Road Initiative, said Matthew Goodman of Washington D.C.-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Still, it could make a “significant contribution” in closing the world’s infrastructure gap by channeling investments into developing countries,” said Goodman.
Wealthy nations in the Group of Seven have agreed to set up an infrastructure plan to compete with China’s Belt and Road Initiative — but that won’t stop Beijing’s massive program, an expert on global economic governance said Monday.
Leaders from the G-7 nations met at a three-day summit in southwest England that ended Sunday — their first face-to-face meeting in two years. The group’s infrastructure plan is part of a broad collective pushback against China on issues ranging from human rights abuses to non-market practices that undermine fair competition.
“This isn’t really intended to stop Belt and Road. But I think the G-7 is signaling that they want to offer an alternative which really revolves around two big things that these countries offer,” said Matthew Goodman, senior vice president for economics at Washington D.C.-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The Belt and Road Initiative is China’s ambitious program to build physical and digital infrastructure to connect hundreds of countries from Asia to the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Critics consider it Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy to expand his country’s global influence.
Goodman, who’s also the Simon Chair in political economy at CSIS, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” that the G-7 could make a “significant contribution” in closing the world’s infrastructure gap by channeling investments into developing countries.
In addition, the seven rich democracies would bring better safeguards to infrastructure projects — including transparency, accountability as well as environmental and social standards, said Goodman.I think the tone was pretty clear about the concern that these seven large, advanced market economies have about China, its economic coercion, its non-market policies, its human rights abuses.
Matthew Goodman
CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
“I think that’s what they’re trying to signal here. Whether they can pull it off or not is another story, it’s a very difficult business,” he added.
The U.S. and many countries have been critical of the Belt and Road plan, accusing Beijing of leaving participating countries laden with untenable debt, while benefiting Chinese companies — many of them state-owned. In addition to the program’s environmental harm, critics also questioned the transparency of the deals.
Confronting China
China featured prominently in a communique released by the G-7 on Sunday. The G-7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S.
In addition to calling out China’s alleged human rights abuses and non-market policies, the G-7 also asked for more transparency on the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. They stressed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and expressed concerns about tensions in the East and South China Sea where China has overlapping territorial claims with its regional neighbors.
Beijing responded angrily to the communique on Monday.
The Chinese embassy in the U.K. said it firmly opposed the G-7 statement and was strongly dissatisfied. In a Mandarin-language statement translated by CNBC, the embassy urged the U.S. and other G-7 members to stop slandering China and interfering in Chinese internal affairs.
Before the release of the Chinese embassy’s statement, Goodman said Beijing shouldn’t be surprised of the G-7 pushback. He said the group had wanted to show that democratic nations are working together to address global challenges, in contrast to authoritarian rivals such as China and Russia.
“I think the tone was pretty clear about the concern that these seven large, advanced market economies have about China, its economic coercion, it’s non-market policies, its human rights abuses,” said Goodman.
“And I think that was well telegraphed in the run-up to the summit, so Beijing shouldn’t be surprised.”
Gene Ching
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On the road again. READ Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 35 – Hainan Island and Grandmaster Liu Huai Liang by Greg Brundage
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Gene Ching
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Weapon sparring? READ Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 36 – Interview with Hainan’s Grandmaster Liu Huai Liang continued by Greg Brundage
Gene Ching
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