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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

U.S. Announced Investment & Security Funding to Indo-Pacific

On July 30, FAO Global attended the Indo-Pacific Forum held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in which U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, announced that the United States will invest $113 million in the Indo-Pacific region to develop technology and infrastructure. This initiative likely intended to counter growing Chinese influence as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). – Ziqing Zhang

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China Intelligence Brief: June 2018

The China Intelligence Briefs are the start of a global initiative to provide context and recommendations to businesses, non-profit organizations, and policy makers who are looking for specific examples of opportunity or disruption from global events. While analyzing the macro problems we often identify specific issues that affect our clients and readers. Identifying both opportunities & challenges allow us to better identify solutions at home and abroad for a wide range of disciplines. In addition to the China Intelligence Briefs, we maintain detailed notes from interviews, overseas trips & business missions, conferences, conventions, and private events.
We provide access to these notes and other analytical products for clients and paid subscribers daily.

Misconceptions in South China Sea Can Raise US-China Tensions

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 Further, the Pentagon rescinded its invitation to China for the 2018 Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC).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

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