16/1/2018 China’s Silk Road Plan Facing Problems

AS IT IS

China’s Silk Road Plan Facing Problems

January 15, 2018

China’s plan for a modern Silk Road linking Asia and Europe hit a pothole recently
in Pakistan.

Pakistan and China have good relations; some Pakistani o cials even call China their
“Iron Brother.” China has played an even bigger role in the country since U.S.
President Donald Trump decided last week to suspend security assistance to
Pakistan.

Yet, plans for the countries to build a $14-billion dam on the Indus River were put in
doubt, a er Pakistan’s water authority announced China wanted to own part of the
project.

China has denied making the demand. However, the water authority rejected China’s
reported demand as against Pakistani interests, and withdrew Pakistan from the
dam project.

Belt and Road Initiative

From Pakistan to Hungary to Tanzania, projects under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s

“Belt and Road Initiative” are being canceled, renegotiated or delayed. Host
countries have disputed costs and bene ts that they would receive.

e “Belt and Road Initiative” is a plan to build projects across 65 countries, from the
South Paci c through Asia to Africa and Europe. Such projects include oil drilling in
Siberia, new ports in Southeast Asia, railways in Eastern Europe and power plants in
the Middle East.

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16/1/2018 China’s Silk Road Plan Facing Problems

e United States, Russia and India view the Belt and Road initiative as a way for
China to expand its in uence.

Many countries have welcomed plans to build infrastructure that would keep their
economies growing. Nations such as Japan have given or lent billions of dollars for
development through the Asian Development Bank.

China, however, remains the largest or only source of money for many projects.

Many projects cancelled or delayed

In November, Nepal canceled plans for Chinese companies to build a $2.5-billion

dam. O cials said building contracts for the Budhi Gandaki Hydro Electric Project
violated rules that require o ers from numerous bidders.

e European Union is also looking into whether Hungary awarded contracts to

Chinese builders for a high-speed railway to Serbia without competing bids.

In Myanmar, plans for a Chinese oil company to build a $3-billion re nery were
canceled in November because of nancing problems.

In ailand, work on a $15-billion high-speed railway was delayed in 2016 following

complaints that not enough business went to ai companies.

In Tanzania, the government has reopened negotiations with China and the gulf
state of Oman over ownership of a planned $11-billion port in the city of Bagamoyo.
Tanzania wants to make sure its people get more than just taxes collected from the
port.

Even Pakistan, one of China’s friendliest neighbors, has failed to agree on key
projects. Among them are a $10-billion railway in Karachi and a $260-million airport
for Gwadar.

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16/1/2018 China’s Silk Road Plan Facing Problems

Limited success

ere is no o cial list of all Belt and Road projects. However, BMI Research has
created a list of $1.8 trillion worth infrastructure investments across Asia, Africa and
the Middle East.

Christian Zhang is with BMI Research. He said, “it’s probably too early to say at this
point how much of the overall initiative will actually be implemented.”

Kerry Brown is a Chinese politics professor at King’s College London. He said China
has faced and may continue to face “a lot of disagreements and misunderstandings.”

Brown added, “It’s hard to think of a big, successful project the ‘Belt and Road
Initiative’ has led to at the moment.”

Despite the setbacks, Chinese o cials say most Belt and Road projects are moving
ahead with few problems.

e state-run China Development Bank announced in 2015 it had set aside $890
billion for more than 900 projects across 60 countries in gas, minerals, power,
telecommunications, infrastructure and farming. e Export-Import Bank of China
said it would support 1,000 projects in 49 countries.

And last November, deputy commerce minister Li Chenggang said that work on
pipelines to deliver oil and gas from Russia and Central Asia is making “steady
progress.”

I'm Ashley ompson. And I'm Caty Weaver.

Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on an Associated Press report.
Ashley ompson was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

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16/1/2018 China’s Silk Road Plan Facing Problems

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Words in is Story

hit a pothole - idiom. to face unexpected challenge (pothole: a deep, round hole in
a road or some other surface (such as the bottom of a river)

initiative - n. a plan or program

host - n. a person who entertain guests or country that receive visitors

bidder - n. a person who o er to pay a certain price

re nery - n. a place where something like oil is re ned

implement - v. to begin to work on a plan

despite - preposition, used to say that something happens or is true

steady - adj. lasting or continuing

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