Chinese President Xi Jinping Pledges $124 Billion for One Belt, One Road Initiative

China Plans World's Longest Tunnel 9 comments

mrbluze writes:

"Projected to cost around US$37 billion, China has resurrected plans for an underwater tunnel 123km in length, Daily Mail reports that 'the tunnel will run from the port city of Dalian in northeastern Liaoning province to Yantai city in eastern Shandong, slashing travel time to 40 minutes.'

China first announced plans in 1994 to build the tunnel, at an estimated cost of $10 billion, with completion set before 2010. But 20 years on, the project remains stuck in the planning stage. The project has also been proposed at the annual session of China's parliament every year since 2009.

A world wonder, or just another pipe dream?"

China to Spend $182 Billion on Network Infrastructure 18 comments

takyon writes:

China has announced plans to spend $182 billion over the next 30 months to modernize the nation's network infrastructure:

The State Council, China's chief administrative authority, said the government will invest at least $69.3bn in network construction this year, which in turn will be supplemented with $112.8bn in expenditure before the end of 2017, all in order to accelerate the construction of fiber optic networks and 4G networks.
The state investment follows Li Keqiang, the State Council Premier, announcing China's "Internet Plus" policy, which is intended to see the nation focus on domestic technology adoption in order to boost domestic growth while also giving Chinese technology firms a chance do do better overseas.
Complaining about China's internet speeds previously, Keqiang undershot the Network Readiness Index [which ranks China 62nd], instead seemingly favouring Akamai's State of the Internet: Q4 2014 report [Subscription required], stating that "China has more cellphone users than any other country, but its net service speed ranks below 80th in the world due to underdeveloped information infrastructure".
The State Council has said: "By the end of 2017, all households in locations above prefecture level will have access to 100 Mbps fiber optic networks, over 80 per cent of villages will be covered by fiber optic networks, all cities and villages will be covered by 4G networks, and broadband speeds in municipalities and provincial capitals will reach 30 Mbps."

China Invests $45 Billion in Megacity Project 19 comments

takyon writes:

China is investing an additional $45 billion in a megacity project that will merge Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei provinces:

China on Friday earmarked 290 billion yuan ($45.45 billion) for manufacturing and industrial park projects to support its efforts to integrate Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province into a megacity, state media reported.
The government hopes to ease pressures on its crowded capital by transferring industries further out into the integrated metropolis, which it says has a combined population of about 110 million people. It dubbed the area "Jing-Jin-Ji" last year, using shortened versions of the names of the cities and province.

Demographia World Urban Areas lists the fastest growing cities as Batam, Mogadishu, Burkina Faso, Xiamen, and Yinchuan. Megacities and the impending 70% urbanization of the world's population have their proponents, such as architect Lord Foster:

Design plays a huge part. Cities that are consistently rated highly by the public in terms of quality of life are relatively compact and pedestrian-friendly, with good public transport and generous parks and civic spaces. These more desirable cities are comparatively dense and have evolved historically from a traditional European concept. They consume less energy than the more recent suburban model of cities – like LA with its low-density housing and a dependence on car travel. A new study suggests that urban sprawl costs the US economy more than $1 trillion annually.
Across the globe, people are likely to live longer and healthier lives in cities. In most countries in the world, cities provide better access to education and health services. The longest life expectancies today can be found in high-density, highly developed cities like Hong Kong or Singapore. Unlike cumbersome national governments and international organisations, cities can act quickly and decisively. When it comes to the future of life on Earth, cities are not the problem – they are the solution.

Via NextBigFuture.

Original Submission

China Finances and Builds $13 Billion Railway in Kenya 28 comments

Phoenix666 writes:

CNN reports:

It's been billed as the most ambitious project in Kenya since it gained independence in 1963.
Now, the first section of the east African nation's $13.8 billion railway is nearly finished.
Originally planned to link Mombasa and Nairobi, the decision was made to extend the line to the market town of Naivasha in 2015, and 75% of civil works have reportedly been completed. This first Mombasa-Nairobi stretch will be completed by June 2017, consulting firm CPCS told CNN.
It is hoped that the track will shorten the journey between the two cities from 12 hours to four hours. Passenger trains will travel at 120km/h, and freight trains will be able to carry 25 million tonnes per year, according to the International Railway Journal.
Eventually, the East Africa Railway Masterplan will link Mombasa with other major east African cities such as Kampala, in Uganda, and Juba, in South Sudan.
[...] The railway is being built by the state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), 90% of the ongoing development of the Mombasa-Nairobi section is being financed by The Export-Import Bank of China.

China has been investing heavily in Africa over the last decade. Some have accused it of "neo-colonialism," of only trying to lock-in access to the continent's natural resources.

Original Submission

China Plans $503 Billion Investment in High-Speed Rail by 2020 20 comments

martyb writes:

According to a report at Bloomberg , China plans a major investment in high-speed rail over the next five years: $503 Billion:

China plans to spend 3.5 trillion yuan ($503 billion) to expand its railway system by 2020 as it turns to investments in infrastructure to bolster growth and improve connectivity across the country.
The high-speed rail network will span more than 30,000 kilometers (18,650 miles) under the proposal, according to details released at a State Council Information Office briefing in Beijing Thursday. The distance, about 6.5 times the length of a road trip between New York and Los Angeles, will cover 80 percent of major cities in China.
The plan will see high-speed rail lines across the country expand by more than half over a five-year period, a boon to Chinese suppliers of rolling stock such as CRRC Corp. and rail construction companies including China Railway Construction Corp. and China Railway Group Ltd. Earlier this year, China turned to a private company for first time to operate an inter-city rail service on the mainland, part of President Xi Jinping's push to modernize the nation's transport network amid slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.
China will also add 3,000 kilometers to its urban rail transit system under the plan released Thursday.
At the end of 2015, China had 121,000 kilometers of railway lines, including 19,000 kilometers of high-speed tracks, according to a transportation white paper issued Thursday. The U.S. had 228,218 kilometers of rail lines as of 2014, according to latest available data from the World Bank.
The Chinese government will invite private investment to participate in funding intercity and regional rail lines, Yang Yudong, administrator of the National Railway Administration, said at the briefing.

Compare that to what it would cost, and how long it would take, to create the same high-speed rail links between 80% of major cities in the USA. I suspect it would be considered a miracle if half the cases would make it out of the courts in five years. Think of the advancements in manufacturing that can arise when "here" and "there" are "nearby" instead of "far away".

Original Submission

G7 Aims to Raise $600 Billion to Counter China's Belt and Road 33 comments

takyon writes:

G7 aims to raise $600 billion to counter China's Belt and Road

Group of Seven leaders on Sunday pledged to raise $600 billion in private and public funds over five years to finance needed infrastructure in developing countries and counter China's older, multitrillion-dollar Belt and Road project.
U.S. President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders relaunched the newly renamed "Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment," at their annual gathering being held this year at Schloss Elmau in southern Germany.
Biden said the United States would mobilize $200 billion in grants, federal funds and private investment over five years to support projects in low- and middle-income countries that help tackle climate change as well as improve global health, gender equity and digital infrastructure.

The Belt and Road Initiative, formerly known as One Belt One Road or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 70 countries and international organizations.

Previously:
China Plans $503 Billion Investment in High-Speed Rail by 2020
Chinese President Xi Jinping Pledges $124 Billion for One Belt, One Road Initiative

Original Submission

Politics: China's $1 Trillion Belt and Road Project Includes Military Cooperation With Pakistan 25 comments

takyon writes:

China's 'Belt and Road' Plan in Pakistan Takes a Military Turn

When President Trump started the new year by suspending billions of dollars of security aid to Pakistan, one theory was that it would scare the Pakistani military into cooperating better with its American allies.
The reality was that Pakistan already had a replacement sponsor lined up.
Just two weeks later, the Pakistani Air Force and Chinese officials were putting the final touches on a secret proposal to expand Pakistan's building of Chinese military jets, weaponry and other hardware. The confidential plan, reviewed by The New York Times, would also deepen the cooperation between China and Pakistan in space, a frontier the Pentagon recently said Beijing was trying to militarize after decades of playing catch-up.
All those military projects were designated as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, a $1 trillion chain of infrastructure development programs stretching across some 70 countries, built and financed by Beijing.
Chinese officials have repeatedly said the Belt and Road is purely an economic project with peaceful intent. But with its plan for Pakistan, China is for the first time explicitly tying a Belt and Road proposal to its military ambitions — and confirming the concerns of a host of nations who suspect the infrastructure initiative is really about helping China project armed might.

Original Submission

Italy Joins China's Belt and Road Initiative 29 comments

takyon writes:

Italy joins China's New Silk Road project

Italy has become the first developed economy to sign up to China's global investment programme which has raised concerns among Italy's Western allies.
A total of 29 deals amounting to €2.5bn ($2.8bn) were signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Rome. The project is seen as a new Silk Road which, just like the ancient trade route, aims to link China to Europe. Italy's European Union allies and the United States have expressed concern at China's growing influence.
The new Silk Road has another name - the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) - and it involves a wave of Chinese funding for major infrastructure projects around the world, in a bid to speed Chinese goods to markets further afield. Critics see it as also representing a bold bid for geo-political and strategic influence.

Also at Bloomberg and The Washington Post.

Original Submission

Gunmen Attack Chinese Consulate in Pakistan 26 comments

c0lo writes:

Karachi attack: China consulate attack leaves four dead

Gunmen have killed at least four people in an attack on the Chinese consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi. Gunshots were heard at about 09:30 local time (04:30 GMT) outside the consulate in the upmarket Clifton area. Police shot dead three attackers.
Separatist militants who oppose Chinese investment projects in western Pakistan say they carried out the attack. [...] All the staff inside the consulate are safe, China said. The government condemned the attack on its mission and the foreign ministry in Beijing called for extra measures to protect Chinese citizens in Pakistan. "At the same time we mourn the deaths of the Pakistani police and think of their families at this time," a spokesman said.
[...] A separatist group, the Balochistan Liberation Army, said it had carried out the attack. It is one of a number of separatist groups operating in the province, which has seen a long-running nationalist insurgency. "We have been seeing the Chinese as an oppressor, along with Pakistani forces," a spokesman for the group told the AFP news agency.
Over the years, construction projects and Chinese workers in Balochistan have been repeatedly targeted by militants. Most recently, a suicide bombing in August injured a number of Chinese engineers. So far, none of the incidents has been large enough in scale to really threaten the viability of Chinese investment in the country. But this is one of the most prominent attacks to date.

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