Belt and Road

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) hugs Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari at a signing ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on February 5, 2025.

Beijing visit sees Pakistan recommit to its China alliance

The two states are deeply engaged in developing a trade route that would help China avoid a naval blockade. Now they are looking to move beyond trade

Kaswar Klasra 10 February 2025

A handout photo made available by the press service of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) welcomes Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) during their meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 15 July 2021. Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi arrived to Tashkent to attend the two-day International Conference 'Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity. Challenges and Opportunities'. (EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT)

A Deepening Alliance of Convenience

Russia-China military cooperation continues to deepen. On August 9th the two sides kicked off five-day-long joint military exercises in China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The exercise includes…

Maia Otarashvili 13 August 2021

US America and China flags on chess king on a chessboard. (Getty)

Competition Can Be Good for the Developing World

The United States and China are locked in a contest for influence over the rest of the world. The new great-power competition looks in this sense very much like the one that took place during the…

Branko Milanovic 05 June 2021

China Pivots to Middle East as Trump Downsizes US Role

As President Donald Trump eyes the exit in the Middle East, his critics have excoriated him for abdicating a strong U.S. role in the region and clearing a path for Russia’s dominance. Yet in their…

Alice Su and Nabih Bulos 19 December 2019

The Silk Road Trap: How China’s Trade Ambitions Challenge Europe

Holslag claims that China poses a mortal economic threat to Europe and the West. The topic is timely, since the EUis currently considering following…

Andrew Moravcsik 31 October 2019

Wang Yilin, Chairman of China National Petroleum Corporation, speaks during the Belt And Road CEO Conference as part of the second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) at China National Convention Center on April 25, 2019 in Beijing, China. (Getty)

Demystifying Belt and Road

InMay 2017,Beijinghosted the first Belt andRoad Forumfor International Cooperation. The summit, which gathered representatives of more than 100 countries, had been organized to promote Chinese…

Yuen Yuen Ang 31 May 2019

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an enormous international investment project touted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, was supposed to establish Chinese soft power. Since late 2013, Beijing has…

Christopher Balding 26 October 2018

Popular
Editor's Pick

US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pose for a picture at the White House in Washington, DC, US on 18 November 2025.

REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak

Politics

Saudi Arabia, the US, and the renewal of partnership

17 November 2025

Trump elevates Saudi Arabia to 'major non-NATO ally' status, just hours after the Saudi crown prince announced he would increase his investments in the US to nearly $1tn.

Al Majalla - London

Sara Padovan

Politics

Is support for Israel becoming toxic at the ballot box?

11 November 2025

As Americans rethink the moral—and strategic—calculus of US support for Israel, politicians are scrambling to keep pace

Alfred J. Naddaff

This handout photograph released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on 10 November 2025, shows US President Donald Trump (L) shaking hands with Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House in Washington DC.

SANA / AFP

Politics

Syria-US rapprochement sees cooperation surge

13 November 2025

Since Trump began lifting sanctions in May, no time has been wasted. US investment delegations have been flocking to Damascus, and security cooperation has already started.

Charles Lister

Al Majalla

Business & Economy

From oil to AI: a century of Saudi-US partnership

17 November 2025

The Saudi-US alliance is entering a new phase—one characterised by maturity, equilibrium, and a shared vision attuned to a world increasingly shaped by technology

Omar Harkous

Lina Jaradat

Politics

Israel's Olive War aims to uproot more than just trees

09 November 2025

The olive tree is no longer just a source of sustenance for West Bank Palestinians, but a silent witness to their profound struggle between permanence and erasure

Mohammed Najib

Sections

Regions

More

LATEST ISSUE

Beijing visit sees Pakistan recommit to its China alliance

A Deepening Alliance of Convenience

Competition Can Be Good for the Developing World

China Pivots to Middle East as Trump Downsizes US Role

The Silk Road Trap: How China’s Trade Ambitions Challenge Europe

Demystifying Belt and Road

A Blow to China’s Soft Power

Saudi Arabia, the US, and the renewal of partnership

Is support for Israel becoming toxic at the ballot box?

Syria-US rapprochement sees cooperation surge

From oil to AI: a century of Saudi-US partnership

Israel's Olive War aims to uproot more than just trees

OPINIONS

A new Ukraine peace plan surfaces out of the blue

Syria's obstacles to investment are many

Saudi Arabia scores ally upgrade in Washington

Trump under mounting pressure to release the Epstein files

Belt and Road

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter