Johnson pursued by paradoxes of Brexit, Belt and Road initiative and China’s global economic vision
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Tuesday 15 December 2020 – Vol.11 Ed.51.2
Commentary: Johnson pursued by Brexit paradoxesBy John Orchard in London‘Shaking its fist on bended knee’ is the prognosis a former chancellor of the exchequer gave for the UK’s likely approach if no deal over trade with the EU unfolds into poisonous mutual retaliation. During a brief flurry of talk of gunboat diplomacy against French fishing vessels, that appeared last weekend the most probable outcome. Even if a future relationship based on WTO terms is avoided, Brexit has exposed two hugely uncomfortable paradoxes for Johnson‘s government.
Video: China’s global economic visionAs part of its Belt and Road initiative, China plans to spend more than $1tn on infrastructure projects in over 130 countries. While Beijing claims this is in the name of promoting global development, Washington is warning of a path to global dominance. Jonathan Hillman, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Reconnecting Asia project and Agatha Kratz, adjunct fellow at the project, join Mark Sobel, US chairman of OMFIF, to discuss Chinese commercial lending, the debt service suspension initiative and sustainability.
