Belt and Road | Al Majalla

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, Feb 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, Aug 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, Jun 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, Dec 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, Oct 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, Oct 2018

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Editor's Pick

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks on reciprocal tariffs as US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick holds a chart during an event in the Rose Garden entitled "Make America Wealthy Again" at the White House in Washington, DC,

Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP

Business & Economy

Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ brings even bigger tariffs than expected

03 April 2025

Double-digit tariffs on nearly every trading partner will likely spark reprisals

Keith Johnson

People wave flags and chant slogans as they celebrate on the streets of Port Sudan on March 21, 2025, after the army retook the presidential palace in Khartoum from paramilitaries.

Ebrahim HAMID / AFP

Politics

Winning Khartoum: what tipped the scales in the army's favour?

02 April 2025

Several factors contributed to the Sudanese Armed Forces finally reclaiming the country's capital from the RSF paramilitaries who seized it two years ago at the outbreak of civil war.

Amgad Fareid Eltayeb

Eduardo Ramon

Profiles

Ekrem İmamoğlu: The Turkish presidential candidate behind bars

30 March 2025

The man many think could end Erdoğan's quarter-century reign was arrested just days before he was nominated as the CHP presidential candidate. Who is he, and why is he behind bars?

Omer Onhon

The new Syrian government, with President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the middle, poses for a group photo at the presidential palace on Saturday, March 29, 2025.

AFP

Politics

8 things you need to know about Syria's new government

31 March 2025

As Syria takes this important step forward, the journey ahead remains fraught with obstacles but also hope

Al Majalla - London

A man walks past a mural depicting the late Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano in Montevideo.

Eitan ABRAMOVICH / AFP

Culture & Social Affairs

Remembering Eduardo Galeano: the voice of the oppressed

28 March 2025

The passion and imagination of the Uruguayan writer remain timeless, not least over Gaza. Ten years since his passing, Al Majalla revisits his works and words.

Antoine Jockey

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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’s ‘Liberation Day’ brings even bigger tariffs than expected

Winning Khartoum: what tipped the scales in the army's favour?

Ekrem İmamoğlu: The Turkish presidential candidate behind bars

8 things you need to know about Syria's new government

Remembering Eduardo Galeano: the voice of the oppressed

OPINIONS

Trump's new tariffs could further America's global isolation

Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ brings even bigger tariffs than expected

Marie Le Pen banned from running in French presidential race

Iraq moves to give PMF greater role in state security

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