Economy

In this two-part article, prominent Hong Kong commentator and columnist Yang Jinlin assesses Chongqing’s strengths such as its strategic location and expertise in smart city building and waste management while sharing his personal reflections on how the megacity has changed and will continue to grow as it moves from one decade to the next. Read about the future of smart cities, and Chongqing’s achievements in waste management in the second part.

In this two-part article, prominent Hong Kong commentator and columnist Yang Jinlin assesses Chongqing’s strengths such as its strategic location and expertise in smart city building and waste management while sharing his personal reflections on how the megacity has changed and will continue to grow as it moves from one decade to the next. Read about Raffles City Chongqing, a 2019 project by CapitaLand Limited, and Chongqing's web in this first part.

China's latest BRI railway project through Laos, connecting northern Thailand to China's southwestern province of Yunnan, has the potential to facilitate China's shipment of goods to the markets of mainland Southeast Asia. However, international attention is focused on the more than US$1.5 billion combined debt exposure that Laos has racked up for the railway project, with the prospect of national resources such as "underground mineral resources" being used as collateral for loan financing. Time will tell if the economic benefits for Laos will outweigh the costs.

Zhu Ying asserts that the nub of the issue in the China-US trade war is a high level of distrust. Tariff tit for tats are just symptoms of that root problem. If not arrested, it will thwart any real progress in the trade talks.

Despite the local government’s best efforts to create “China’s Manhattan” in Tianjin, the Yujiapu and Xiangluowan business areas in Binhai — once looked upon with much promise — have not been as successful as hoped. Lim Zhan Ting visits the developments for a firsthand look.

Two weeks ago, the Philippine Senate heard that China may end up controlling the power grid in the Philippines. Should the Filipinos be concerned? ISEAS senior fellow Malcolm Cook examines what this might mean for the Philippines.

In a record listing of 2019, Alibaba’s stock price in Hong Kong rose by 6.6% during its first day of trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Doing so in the midst of uncertainty in Hong Kong seems risky, but Alibaba’s gambit to reach investors in Asia may just pay off in the long run.

There are 225 million rural internet users and over 9.8 million e-businesses in China’s rural areas. With internet sales for agricultural products standing at over 230 billion RMB, e-commerce seems like the perfect way to alleviate poverty in China. Edwin Ong speaks to village entrepreneurs to find out how e-commerce works, the many problems it faces, and its future.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is extending all over the world, including the little country of Timor-Leste, situated between Indonesia and Australia. How is China’s influence perceived there, and how are the locals reacting? Sim Tze Wei finds out.