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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

Myanmar scales back on Belt & Road port project over debt concerns

China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) is facing another challenge in Southeast Asia. On July 5, Myanmar announced it would be ceasing the continuation of billions of dollars of Chinese-sponsored projects. In the beginning of August, sources said that Myanmar was now scaling back on the Chinese-led Kyauk Pyu deep-water port project over cost concerns. – Weiting Li

Trump’s Trade War with China has started

United States President Donald Trump’s first round of tariff on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports will take effect on Friday, July 6, 2018. The first 25% tariff will impact a variety of products including farm machinery, industrial products, medical devices, automobiles, and aircraft parts. Read a more detailed summary and our 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.

Drones delivery is fast developing in China’s E-Commerce market

SUMMARY  On June 18, Jingdong, or JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce company, began testing their prototype drone delivery service, an initiative to reduce transportation costs and delivery times for more remote areas. On the same day, Google announced that it would be investing $550 million to develop new retail solutions using cutting edge AI and logistics…

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Canada blocks Chinese company from acquiring Aecon

As of May 31, the Canadian government announced that it was blocking a proposed $1.18 billion USD acquisition of the Canadian firm Aecon Group Inc. by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) over national security concerns. – Adriana Ray