Latest news with #BeltAndRoadInitiative
Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Pakistani Security Forces Kill 3 Militants Linked to 2024 Attack on Chinese in Karachi
Pakistani security forces in an overnight raid killed three suspected militants accused of orchestrating last year's attack in which two Chinese nationals working in a textile mill in the southern port city of Karachi were wounded, officials said on Monday. Azad Khan, a senior official with the Counter-Terrorism Department, said the dead insurgents included the alleged mastermind of the November 2024 attack, The Associated Press said. He identified that person only as Zafran and said he was from the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP and are allies of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. China has repeatedly pressed Pakistan to improve security for its nationals working on major infrastructure projects under Beijing's multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, which include roads, railways and power plants. Chinese nationals have increasingly come under attack by militant groups, including TTP and the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army — banned by the Pakistani authorities and also designated as terrorist groups by the United States. Pakistan has pledged to bolster security measures for Chinese workers, including those employed at private factories. Meanwhile, at least seven people were killed the previous day in Tirah Valley, a district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Fiaz Khan, a local government official, said. He said the violence erupted when hundreds of residents gathered outside a military camp to demand protection and justice after a child was killed in a mortar attack on the weekend. The crowd came under gunfire from 'unknown gunmen,' Khan said. He said the demonstrators accused security forces of opening fire when some people were throwing stones at the military camp, but police had yet to determine whose bullets caused the deaths. Khan said gunfire was also reported from nearby hills, and police suspect TTP may have been behind the shooting to sow discord between residents and the military. The government has ordered a probe into the killings of demonstrators, he said.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan, China discuss progress of CPEC projects, connectivity with Central Asia
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has met China's Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong and discussed progress of ongoing China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and linking the corridor with Central Asian states for greater regional connectivity and economic stability, Pakistan's Press Information Department (PID) said on Sunday. Since 2013, Beijing has invested tens of billions of dollars in energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan as part of CPEC, a major segment of China's Belt and Road Initiative that aims to build land and maritime trade routes linking Asia with Africa and Europe. In May, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to the expansion of CPEC to Afghanistan after the recent trilateral meeting in Beijing, while Pakistani and Chinese leaders have invited Central Asian republics in recent years to join CPEC to enhance regional connectivity and economic cooperation. At the meeting in Islamabad, both Pakistani and Chinese officials discussed the progress of ongoing CPEC projects and preparations for the upcoming Pakistan-China Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting, where key decisions are expected to be made. 'Connecting CPEC to Central Asian states will contribute to regional economic stability and economic cooperation,' Iqbal said as he reiterated his government's commitment to ensuring security of CPEC projects, according to PID. Despite massive Chinese investments, Pakistan has struggled to keep up its financial obligations regarding CPEC, while the undertaking has also been hit by militant attacks in recent years. Iqbal previously said the two sides will hold the JCC meeting at the end of July, at which they will approve roadmap for CPEC's Phase 2. The next phase would be based on five corridors, relating to growth, innovation, livelihoods, green energy, and open and inclusive development in the region, he told reporters at a briefing in Islamabad last month. Speaking at Sunday's meeting, he said the development of Gwadar port, which lies at the heart of CPEC in Pakistan's Balochistan, and Special Economic Zones was top priority of his government. 'The government is committed to fully capitalizing on the port's trade potential,' he said. During the meeting, Ambassador Jiang reaffirmed China's commitment to supporting Pakistan's development efforts, according to PID. 'He assured that bilateral cooperation will continue to expand in the coming years,' it said.
Fox News
6 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
China controls over 80% of battery materials crucial to US defense equipment, unsettling report reveals
In a damning new report, researchers reveal how China came to control over 80% of the critical raw battery materials needed for defense technology — posing an urgent national security threat. Through lax permitting processes, weak environmental standards, and aggressive state-led interventions, China has come to dominate global supplies of graphite, cobalt, manganese, and the battery anode and cathode materials that power advanced defense systems. "Batteries will be one of the bullets of future wars," the report's authors warn, citing their essential role in drones, handheld radios, autonomous submersibles, and emerging capabilities like lasers and directed energy weapons. According to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has weaponized global battery infrastructure through a combination of state subsidies, forced intellectual property transfers, and predatory pricing practices. China didn't just rely on low-cost tactics — it also used its financial muscle abroad. Over the past two decades, at least 26 state-backed banks have pumped roughly $57 billion into mining and processing projects in Africa, Latin America, and beyond. These investments, often structured through joint ventures and special-purpose vehicles, gave Chinese firms controlling stakes in mineral mining, the report said. Through its Belt and Road Initiative, China has leveraged influence in resource-rich developing nations, securing control over massive critical mineral deposits. Today, it processes approximately 65% of the world's lithium, 85% of graphite, 70% of cathodes, 85% of anodes, and a staggering 97% of anode active materials. Beyond powering drones, handheld radios, and electric vehicles, lithium is critical in strategic military systems: lithium-ion batteries are used in grid support for bases and emerging directed-energy weapons. Moreover, Beijing has begun weaponizing export controls: since 2023, it has tightened restrictions on processed graphite, gallium, and germanium — later adding antimony, tungsten, and rare earths to the roster. These measures curb exports via a licensing regime and broad bans on exports to the U.S., signaling a clear geopolitical leverage too, according to the report. Both lithium and graphite are essential for modern nuclear weapons. Cobalt alloys are used in jet engines, naval turbines, electronics connectors, and sensors capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, vibration, and radiation-making. While American and allied reserves of lithium — both brine and hard rock — are being tapped, with new projects in North and South Carolina targeting domestic spodumene processing, the report claims U.S. mineral mining and refining are not advancing quickly enough to meet national security demands. Permitting obstacles account for roughly 40% of all delays in mining projects, the report notes, with processing operations facing similarly cumbersome constraints. Chinese subsidies "dwarf" those available to U.S. firms, and include tax exemptions, direct manufacturing grants, and ultra-low-interest loans, the report said. U.S. firms are now accelerating investment in domestic alternatives to China's lithium. With new Trump administration initiatives aimed at incentivizing critical mineral development—and forecasts projecting the U.S. lithium market to grow by roughly 500% over the next five years — American companies are beginning to build out processing capacity on home soil. Piedmont Lithium is developing a lithium hydroxide facility in North Carolina to process spodumene concentrate from its U.S. deposits, while Albemarle recently announced plans for a new lithium processing plant in Chester County, South Carolina. Both projects are designed to feed a fast-growing domestic battery ecosystem and reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains. But to become globally competitive, the report argues, the U.S. must take a far more proactive approach, including incentivizing private-sector investment, streamlining federal permitting, establishing a national critical minerals stockpile, building technical talent pipelines, creating special economic zones, and developing robust domestic processing infrastructure. The authors also stress the importance of ally-shoring, recommending diplomatic coordination with trusted partners — similar to prior U.S. efforts involving Ukraine, Greenland, and the DRC in rare-earth sourcing — to construct resilient supply chains beyond China's reach. "Despite China's control of the battery supply chain, this is a time of great vulnerability for Beijing, while the United States and its core allies remain strong," the report concludes. "It is time for new guardrails, muscular statecraft, and a unified international response to non-market manipulation. Building critical supply chains that are independent of China's coercive economic practices can help unleash a wave of cooperation among free-market nations that will lift up both established allies and emerging market partners and turn the tide against China's parasitic economic model."
New York Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
China Flexes Muscles at U.N. Cultural Agency, Just as Trump Walks Away
Any traveler who has picked up an international guidebook knows the UNESCO designation as shorthand for a must-see cultural destination that's worthy of a detour. But the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has also become the target of an intense Chinese influence campaign in recent years as Beijing has sought to increase its reach over educational curriculums, historical designations and even artificial intelligence. President Trump's decision Tuesday to withdraw the United States from the group removes a powerful check on China's effort, in the latest example of how the White House retreat from international institutions offers an opening for China to advance its soft power. The United States was once the largest UNESCO backer, accounting for nearly 25 cents of every dollar. But Washington has had an on-again-off-again relationship with it for years, especially since Mr. Trump first took office in 2017, and China has stepped up to take its place. A Chinese official is now UNESCO's deputy director general, a post that diplomats said is often awarded in exchange for political or monetary favors. UNESCO has lent support to major priorities for China's top leader, Xi Jinping, including the global infrastructure program known as the Belt and Road Initiative. Beijing has also lobbied heavily for World Heritage designations and is jockeying to surpass Italy as the country with the most culturally significant sites. Some of those sites are in oppressed regions like Tibet and Xinjiang, where many local residents view them as an attempt to appropriate and control their culture and history. And while UNESCO wields tremendous clout over what counts as history, it is also the U.N. agency in charge of setting artificial intelligence guidelines. UNESCO has an agreement with iFlytek, a major Chinese A.I. company, to cooperate on higher education in Asia and Africa, according to Chinese state media. (UNESCO said it has partnerships with many artificial intelligence companies worldwide.) Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Arab News
7 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan says stepping up security for Chinese nationals amid CPEC expansion
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is ramping up security measures for Chinese nationals across the country, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday, as Islamabad hopes for expanded bilateral activity and more investment projects under the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Launched in 2015, CPEC is an over $60 billion flagship component of China's global Belt and Road Initiative, linking western China to Pakistan's Arabian Sea port of Gwadar through a network of roads, railways, and energy infrastructure. The project is widely seen as a potential economic lifeline for Pakistan but it has also brought Chinese nationals in the crosshairs of separatist militants who believe Beijing is helping Pakistan exploit minerals in the underdeveloped southwestern province of Balochistan, where China has a strategic port and mining interests. Chinese have also faced attacks in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Pakistan's commercial hub of Karachi. In recent months, Beijing has been pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working there, frustrated by the string of attacks on its citizens, particularly a bombing at the Karachi airport last October that killed two Chinese engineers who were returning to work at a power plant. 'Multiple steps are being taken to strengthen the security of Chinese citizens across the country, including Islamabad,' PM Sharif said during a high-level review meeting to review security. 'The Safe City projects are a prime example of this growing capacity. 'In light of CPEC's expansion, the security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan has gained even greater importance … We are building a safe and business-friendly environment for the Chinese community in Pakistan.' During the meeting, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi briefed the prime minister on current security arrangements. Officials said 'special security measures are in place' due to terrorism risks and confirmed that all provinces and the federal government were working 'in close coordination.' The briefing noted that Chinese nationals were being provided security escorts while traveling and all new housing developments would include Safe City-grade surveillance infrastructure. Sharif also directed relevant ministries to prioritize Chinese passenger facilitation at airports. After building a string of energy and infrastructure projects since CPEC was first launched in 2015, CPEC Phase II focuses on industrial cooperation and socio-economic development, aiming to enhance industrial capacity, agricultural development and social well-being in Pakistan. This phase also emphasizes job creation, technology transfer and increased export capacity by boosting connectivity. It is expected to be completed in stages, with the development of manufacturing and processing industries envisioned by 2025, and further expansion by 2030.
