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Malaysia May Cancel Two Major Belt & Road Projects

On Tuesday, August 21, Malaysian president Mahathir Mohamad concluded his first visit in Beijing. During his 5-day visit, Mohamad re-negotiated with China for some $22 billion U.S. dollar infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (also known as the One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative), in an effort to free Malaysia from their national debt crisis. Unlike his Beijing-friendly precursor, Mahathir is attempting to cancel two major China-backed infrastructure projects already in agreement with Beijing. – Weiting Li

China’s Economy Cooling Down

According a studied released on August 14 by the China National Bureau of Statistics China’s economic growth slowed 5.5%. This rate is lower compared to the first seven months (January through July) of the previous year’s growth. Beijing tried to explain the slow growth by China transitioning from ““high-speed growth” to “high-quality growth,” which was promoted by high tech initiative as part of Beijing’s “Made in China 2025” industrial policy. – Ziqing Zhang

For our assessment on the global impacts on businesses, see our detailed summary and assessment here.

Australia Passes New Law Targeting Foreign Interference

On June 28, in the middle of disputes with Chinese telecom giant Huawei on a 5G network, Australia passed a law to prevent foreign interference in the country’s politics and domestic affairs. The new legislation adds 38 new crimes related to foreign interference to the register, including stealing state secrets on behalf of a foreign government, and expands the definition of what can be considered espionage. Read a detailed summary and assessment here.

China removed missile systems from disputed South China Sea

As of June 6th, images taken in the first week of June show that China has removed or relocated the surface-to-air missile systems from Woody Island, a disputed territory in the South China Sea. Beijing-based naval expert, Li Jie, said that the removal was temporary and for the purpose of maintenance. – Ziqing Zhang

Malaysian election possibly thwarts China’s One Belt One Road progress

As of May 29, following criticism over the recent years that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s administration had allowed Beijing too much influence in agreeing to China’s One Belt One Road Initiative (BRI) projects, Mahathir Mohamad of Pakatan Harapan, an opposition party, won the early May election in a huge upset. – Adriana Ray

China to be importing more American goods

As of May 21, Beijing announced that it would be purchasing additional American imports in the coming years after both the United States and China decided to “halt” the trade war — a conflict US President Donald Trump claims was sparked primarily by the large American deficit in their trade relationship. – Adriana Ray

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