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…
From June 19th to the 24th, Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang during Oli’s visit in Beijing to discuss Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI). Both sides expressed a willingness to work together to build a railway network across the Himalayan Mountains and increase economic ties through BRI (previously known as the One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative) transportation and communication projects.
At the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in the first week of June, United States Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, accused the Chinese occupation in the South China Sea to be a militarization tactic aimed at intimidating and imposing its power in the region. Further, the Pentagon rescinded its invitation to China for the 2018 Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC). – Dillon Billingham
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
SUMMARY In a report released on June 10, labor rights NGO China Labor Watch and British newspaper, The Observer, criticized Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, for mistreating workers in a factory located in Hengyang, China. Headquartered in Taiwan, Foxconn owns thousands of factories and manufactures products for American tech giants like Apple and Amazon.…
On May 25, concerns over the price tag attached to a Myanmar port construction (China’s CITIC Group won the rights 3 years ago) arose as experts questioned why the project would cost so much. In addition, the less than flattering reports of China’s motivation behind the $7.5 billion deep-sea port in Kyaukpyu are being questioned by critics of the One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR) also known as the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI). – Dillon Billingham
As of May 30, Chinese construction firm, Gezhouba Group, acquired Brazilian water supply company Sistema Productor São Lourenço as part of the expansive the Belt and Road Initiative. The project is expected to help alleviate water shortage problems in Sao Paulo. Some experts are concerned that China is trying to expand its renewable energy influence in international markets by buying up foreign utility firms. – Ziqing Zhang
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
In the last week of May, the Canadian government announced that it was blocking a proposed $1.18 billion acquisition of the Canadian firm Aecon Group Inc. by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), citing national security concerns. Had the deal gone through, CCCC would have potentially received troves of documents from the Canadian government detailing government contracts, including nuclear reactors agreements.
The most recent round of US-China trade talks ended on Sunday, June 3 without any signed trade deals. Some reports earlier this week claimed that China agreed to buy more agricultural products, including soy beans and corn as well as energy products such as natural gas. – Ziqing Zhang
FAO Global "Developing actionable solutions for complex operating environments, at home and abroad."
