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

Lina Jaradat

Politics

Trump, Sharaa, and the future of Syria

05 December 2025

There was visible warmth when the US and Syrian presidents met in the Oval Office last month, with some even speculating a Trump visit to Damascus. But there is much to do before that happens.

Robert Ford

AFP / Al Majalla

Politics

The GCC moves from ‘safe neutrality’ to ‘indivisible security’

05 December 2025

Following the unprecedented attacks on Qatar, Gulf leaders have pledged to forge a unified defence front, marking a historic shift from cautious neutrality to collective security

Omar Harkous

Jay Torres

Politics

The evolution of Latin America’s drug cartels

04 December 2025

What began as a locally rooted trade in coca leaves and opium evolved into a transnational system of cartels that challenged governments, corrupted institutions, and destabilised countries

Stefanie Butendieck Hijerra

AFP / Al Majalla

Politics

Why the US is asking Lebanon for its bomb back

05 December 2025

When Israel killed a Hezbollah military chief in late November, one GBU-39 bomb failed to detonate, leaving Washington worried that its adversaries could reverse engineer it

Michael Horowitz

Wikimedia Commons

Culture & Social Affairs

Spanish poet Miriam Reyes on escaping the prison of the page

03 December 2025

With her collection 'Con' having won Spain's 2025 National Poetry Prize, the Galician writer spoke to Al Majalla about the process of creation as she works on her first novel.

Mohammed Al-Bittari

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

Trump, Sharaa, and the future of Syria

The GCC moves from ‘safe neutrality’ to ‘indivisible security’

The evolution of Latin America’s drug cartels

Why the US is asking Lebanon for its bomb back

Spanish poet Miriam Reyes on escaping the prison of the page

OPINIONS

Clemency for retirement: the deal shaking Israel

Why a Russian base on Sudan’s coast spells trouble for Egypt

Trump takes aim at ‘weak and decaying’ Europe over Ukraine

Commercialising government data: a new investment opportunity

Belt and Road

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter