Bertil Lintner has spent decades reporting on Southeast Asia and its borderlands with India and China. He has deep familiarity with the history of the India-China conflictual relations and its current dynamic in this region. His latest book, The End of the Chinese Century?, uses the trajectory of China's most ambitious global development project—the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—to assess its claim to be the superpower of the 21st century.
The BRI has been compared to the US Marshall Plan launched after the end of the Second World War to enable the recovery of the war-ravaged economies of western Europe. But China's BRI is global in its scope and backed by large-scale resources. BRI is focused mainly on large infrastructure projects, particularly those that promote connectivity, access to sources of supply and access to markets. China's objective has been to hard-wire the world with itself as the central node in the emerging transport and communications network.
Mr. Lintner's survey of BRI projects a decade since the initiative was announced by Xi Jinping in 2013, delivers a negative report card. This is too sweeping a judgment. He deals mainly with the fate of Asian, African, and some Latin American Chinese-financed projects. But in Europe, the Chinese purchase of the Piraeus port in Greece and linking it through modern rail and highway with the heart of Europe is both an economic and strategic success story. The transformation of Hungary as a freight and distribution center for China-Europe trade is a major long-term transport and logistics hub for China.
Denne historien er fra November 05, 2024-utgaven av Business Standard.
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Denne historien er fra November 05, 2024-utgaven av Business Standard.
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CESS AND SENSIBILITY
Southern states say cess and surcharge eat into their share of resources, urge 16th Finance Commission to consider contribution to national economy
India's transport future balances fossil fuels and clean tech
Fossil fuels will continue to play an important role in India's transportation sector, even as alternative fuel technologies see multifold growth.
Over 6K pollution plaints in Delhi since Oct 2021; 38% still unresolved: CPCB
Delhi registered 6,170 complaints related to air pollution between October 15, 2021 and November 19, 2024, with 2,333 (38 per cent) of these remaining unresolved, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Indians see wallets drain by ₹485 crore in 'UPI scams' in FY25
Over 600,000 incidents of fraud have been reported in the ongoing financial year till September
Future of television is smart and networked
The smart TV market has been stagnant. Is Dor the disruption it needs?
Centre spent ₹3,623 crore on crop residue mgmt since 2018: Environment minister
Since 2018, the Centre has spent ₹3,623.45 crore on crop residue management in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, with ₹1,681.45 crore allocated to Punjab, the highest among the states, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh said in the Lok Sabha.
Silver prices as volatile as stocks: Should you pick gold or silver?
A Motilal Oswal Private Wealth (MOPW) report released on November 25 shows that between 1990 and October 2024, silver's price has been just as volatile as Indian stocks.
Tech stocks gain as recovery takes hold
Nifty IT index hits all-time high as IT outlook turns positive
Adani group stocks settle in red
UNDER PRESSURE
Enviro Infra booked 89.9 times on last day
The initial public offering (IPO) of sewage treatment solutions provider Enviro Infra Engineers was subscribed 89.90 times on the closing day of bidding on Tuesday.
