Setback in Sri Lanka for China’s silk road
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with Chinese President Xi Jingping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 16 May, 2017 (Photo: Reuters/Damir Sagolj).

Author: Dániel Balázs, Tongji University

China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) sets the bar high. It strives to connect Asia, Africa and Europe with the aim of achieving mutual development. Sri Lanka, with its valuable geographic position in the heart of the Indian Ocean, is a crucial participant in Beijing’s newest endeavor. Read more…

Sri Lanka’s delicate balancing act

Authors: Patrick Mendis, Harvard University, and Dániel Balázs, Tongji University

Sri Lanka’s former pro-Chinese ‘strongman’ President Mahinda Rajapaksa was voted out of office in January 2015. The new administration, led by President Maithripala Sirisena, is committed to more ‘balanced’ major power relations. Read more…

When the TPP and One Belt, One Road meet
Then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton meets with then-Chinese vice president Xi Jinping at the State Department in Washington, 14 February 2014. (Photo: AAP).

Authors: Patrick Mendis, Harvard University and Dániel Balázs, Tongji University

After years of talks, negotiators concluded an agreement on the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in October 2015. Since China is excluded from the TPP, one would expect antagonism rather than symbiosis between the Washington-advocated trade package and Beijing’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) strategy. Read more…