Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Graphic Truth: One Belt, One Road, Two Worlds?

Graphic Truth: One Belt, One Road, Two Worlds?
Make us preferred on Google

China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative is one of the most ambitious geopolitical projects ever. By 2027, it aims to dish out an estimated $1.3 trillion in loans, around ten times what the US spent on the Marshall Plan in the aftermath of World War II. As China increases its investment in the West, will countries' loyalty shift toward Beijing? Here's a look at the already staggering scope of Beijing's agenda.

*Correction: An earlier version of this graphic misstated India's participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. India is a member of the AIIB and ADB but not OBOR.

More For You

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria February 5, 2017.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria February 5, 2017.

REUTERS/Rodi Said
Syria’s main Kurdish militia disbandsSome of our readers may recall German sociologist Max Weber’s famous definition of a state as having “a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence.” Well, now you can watch that monopoly expanding in real time in Syria as the country’s main Kurdish militia, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has officially [...]
Fired up
Natalie Johnson
For years, an economically booming China built more gas-fired power plants each year than the US. But now that trend has reversed, as US construction of this type of plant surged by 76% this year. The main driver of the gas-fired plant boom is the staggering electricity demand of AI data centers. Gas is cleaner than coal, of course, but it is [...]
Election officials display a ballot paper while sorting and counting votes after polls close at a polling station during Zambia's general elections.

Election officials display a ballot paper while sorting and counting votes after polls close at a polling station during Zambia's general elections, including the presidential election, in Lusaka, Zambia, August 13, 2026.

REUTERS/Moses Mwape
Zambia’s post-election crisis deepensThe mineral-rich southern African nation is slipping into political crisis following last week’s disputed election, in which incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema won a second five-year term. In the days since, his government has launched a deadly crackdown on the opposition. On Friday, a former minister was [...]
U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney meet in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney meet in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 6, 2025

REUTERS/Leah Millis
It’s official: the US and Canada are in a trade war, a remarkable rupture in one of the world’s closest alliances. After Canada withdrew from talks last Friday, the US applied a 50% tariff on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods and hockey equipment. In response, [...]