Inform Blogs

 After Sri Lanka went bankrupt due to economic profligacy on count of white elephant Chinese funded projects, Bangladesh has joined Nepal by saying a big NO to any further loans from China. The two countries are now only interested in grants. Nine years after it was launched by President Xi Jinping, the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) appears to have lost steam with virtually no new Chinese investment in third countries post-Covid pandemic. While a section of Beijing watchers believe that this is an indicator of the hit that the Chinese economy has taken during the pandemic and as a result of its zero-Covid policy, the BRI appears to be under revaluation with recipient countries wary of the debt trap and its economic feasibility. Bangladesh Finance Minster AHM Mustafa Kamal has publicly blamed economically unviable Chinese BRI projects for exacerbating economic crisis in Sri Lanka. He has warned that developing countries must think twice about taking more loans through BRI as global inf...

 Taiwan said it was closely watching the Chinese drills and that it was prepared for conflict, but would not seek it. Beijing: China’s largest-ever military exercises encircling Taiwan kicked off Thursday, in a show of force straddling vital international shipping lanes after a visit to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi left Taiwan Wednesday after a trip that defied a series of stark threats from Beijing, which views the self-ruled island as its territory. Pelosi was the highest-profile elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, and said her trip made it “unequivocally clear” that the United States would not abandon a democratic ally. It sparked a furious reaction from Beijing, which vowed “punishment” and announced military drills in the seas around Taiwan — some of the world’s busiest waterways. The exercises, which began around 12 pm (0400 GMT), involve “live-firing”, according to state media. “Six major areas around the island have been selected for...