1. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has brought extreme stress to the global economy. Governments around the world are trying solutions to tackle the economic crisis through various fiscal, monetary, and related stimulus packages. Policymakers are struggling to balance their stimulus between the immediate “rescue” phase and the longer-term “recovery” phase:…
China announced coal phase-out in Bangladesh In February 2021, China’s embassy in Bangladesh sent a letter to the local Ministry of Finance stating that “the Chinese side shall no longer consider projects with high pollution and high energy consumption, such as coal mining [and] coal-fired power stations”. Why did China…
On March 5 during the “Two Sessions”, China introduced its 14th five-year plan for 2021 to 2025, as well as the Government Work Plan. In it, China vows to focus on “green development”, to uphold the “30-60” promise of Xi Jinping for China to try to peak carbon emissions before…
On February 22, 2021, China’s State Council issued the “Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Establishment and Improvement of a Green and Low-Carbon Circular Development Economic System”. Published by the highest Chinese governing body only few weeks before the start of the “Two Sessions”- the annual plenary sessions of the national…
On February 2, 2021, the British government published a review of “The Economics of Biodiversity” by academic Sir Partha Sarathi Dasgupta. In it, the authors point out the “collective failure” of humanity to preserve nature, due to a “widespread and deeply rooted institutional failure”. Accordingly, Dasgupta calls for a transformative…
Highlights Download pdf The outbreak of COVID-19 has accelerated many debt issues in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries. In our previous brief on the debt issue in 52 selected BRI countries, we analyzed both the reasons for the pressing debt sustainability issues and the countries that are particularly vulnerable…
Highlights Renewable energy investments (solar, wind, hydro) constitute majority of Chinese overseas energy investments – increasing their share from 38% in 2019 to 57% in 2020 – amid a total decrease of BRI investments of 54% Key findings Chinese overseas investments into countries of the BRI were about US$47 billion…
On January 10th, the State Council Information Office (the administrative office under the State Council) published the White Paper on “China’s International Development Cooperation in the New Era” (中文版本). In 8 chapters, the paper summarizes China’s recent engagement in (generously) providing development assistance (intermixed with its overseas economic engagement) and…
The original article was published on Panda Paw Dragon Claw on 11th January, 2021 and has been updated on Jan 18, 2021. “When the tide goes out, you see who is swimming naked”! This is a quote coined by Warren Buffet about those who take on too much debt, believing…
On September 22, 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China aims to peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 during the UN General Assembly. EU-China-summit-2020 (Pic: European Council) One important partner for China to reach its ambitions is the European Union (EU). On September 14,…