How Beijing’s belligerence over Taiwan is connected to a Belt and Road Initiative in distress

Summary

This article by Mohamed Zeeshan, writing for SCMP, makes the following points:

• When Chinese President Xi Jinping first unveiled his flagship Belt and Road Initiative, it seemed like a masterstroke.
• This Initiative is now in trouble partly due to Covid lockdowns.
• To maintain its influence with Belt and Road countries, China might be considering a pivot to a more aggressive, militarily based foreign policy.

References

Recent Runway Posts related to this topic:

• Xi Jinping failed to derail Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan, but he's still beating the drums of a 'defensive' war | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
• Beijing bristles at Biden’s "yes" for US military intervention if China invades Taiwan | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)

References from the Web:

• JUL 2022 China’s emerging Belt and Road debt crisis—Financial Times
• AUG 2022 China’s show of force over Taiwan a chance to test military coordination but results unclear: analysts—SCMP  
• AUG 2022 China and Taiwan: A really simple guide—BBC  

Source Information:

• Article Source: South China Morning Post (SCMP)
• Media Check: SCMP - Media Bias Fact Check (mediabiasfactcheck.com)
• RAAF RUNWAY: RATIONALE, GUIDELINES, LEARNING OUTCOMES, ETC |