Foreign news
How China’s BRI Contributes To Global Economic Recovery
I’m Robert Lawrence Kuhn and here’s what I’m watching: China’s Belt and Road Initiative – amidst its achievements and controversies, how it contributes to global economic recovery.
Here’s the background. China’s Belt and Road is a grand global vision of building critical infrastructure in developing countries, addressing the world’s biggest problems – endemic poverty and global inequality.
Some Western officials claim that Belt and Road is a Chinese plot to take over strategic assets through “debt-trap diplomacy,” create neocolonial economic dependency and secure political support through economic incentives (and even corruption). Some Chinese people present Belt and Road as if it is entirely charitable, wholly for the benefit of the host country.
Both distort Belt and Road’s unique contribution and true worth to the world.
I cannot here explore these contradictory views – but I will say that Western research has debunked the debt-trap charge, and Belt and Road brings China multiple benefits, including business for Chinese companies, overcapacity utilization, access to natural resources, and long-term diversification of markets.
That China as well as host countries benefits is good for everyone, making the Belt and Road Initiative self-sustaining and thus providing long-term, critical support to the developing world.
I want to address a more immediate benefit. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Belt and Road re-energizes the global economy, especially the economies of developing countries. Belt and Road provides linkages and connectivity for trade routes, more robust supply chains, 5G communications, and, vitally, medical assistance, especially COVID-19 treatment and a soon-coming vaccine.
In March, President Xi Jinping called for creating a “Silk Road of Health” to combat the epidemic globally. In June, Foreign Minister Wang Yi chaired a High-Level Video Conference on Fighting COVID-19 with ministers from 25 Belt and Road countries.
In a written message, President Xi said that China will work with its partners to develop the Belt and Road into a model of cooperation, a model of health, a model of recovery, and a model of growth.
Wang Yi said the pandemic has strengthened, not restrained, cooperation under the Belt and Road framework. Chinese factories have exported over 50 billion surgical masks and 250 million protective gowns. China has sent 26 expert teams to 24 countries to provide information and in-person guidance.
In the first quarter of 2020, China’s trade with Belt and Road countries increased by 3.2 percent, almost 10 percentage points higher than the overall negative growth rate of China’s foreign trade volume. In the first half of 2020, China-Europe freight trips rose 36 percent, transporting 27,000 tons of anti-pandemic materials to Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Poland and Hungary.
After the pandemic, countries will be even more motivated to develop their economies and improve the living standards of their people, with increasing demands for cooperation in public health. The Belt and Road will continue to facilitate that, helping to transform the developing world.
I’m keeping watch. I’m Robert Lawrence Kuhn.
Cameraman: Morgan Compagnon
Video editor: Liu Yuqing
(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)
Foreign news
Court of Arbitration Declares Indus Waters Treaty Fully Operational Rejects India’s ‘Abeyance’
Cyril Ogar
The Court of Arbitration has unanimously reaffirmed that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) remains fully in force, ruling that India cannot unilaterally place the 1960 agreement in “abeyance” or suspend its obligations under the treaty.
The decision represents a significant legal development in the longstanding dispute between India and Pakistan over the management and use of the Indus river system.
The Court’s finding addresses a fundamental issue at the heart of the dispute: whether either party can unilaterally suspend the treaty outside the legal framework agreed by both countries.
In its unanimous determination, the Court made clear that the IWT continues to bind both India and Pakistan and that its obligations cannot be set aside through a unilateral political declaration.
The ruling means India remains subject to the treaty provisions governing the use of the Western Rivers, including requirements relating to the design and operation of hydroelectric projects, as well as the dispute-resolution mechanisms established under the agreement.
The Court has also ordered interim measures concerning the Ratle Hydroelectric Plant, restricting specified construction activities while the broader dispute remains under consideration.
The measures are aimed at preserving the effectiveness of the arbitration process and preventing developments that could prejudice the outcome of the proceedings.
For Pakistan, the decision represents significant legal validation of its longstanding position that the IWT is a binding international agreement and contains no provision allowing either party to unilaterally place it in abeyance.
Pakistan has consistently maintained that disagreements over the treaty should be addressed through the institutional mechanisms established by the agreement, rather than through unilateral action.
The IWT provides a structured framework for resolving disputes through mechanisms including the Permanent Indus Commission, Neutral Expert and Court of Arbitration processes.
The latest ruling therefore reinforces the principle that treaty obligations cannot simply be disregarded because of deteriorating political relations between signatories.
The significance of the decision extends beyond the India-Pakistan dispute. It underscores the broader international-law principle that agreements governing shared rivers and other transboundary resources must be respected and disputes resolved through established legal and institutional channels.
The Indus river system supports agriculture, livelihoods, food security and communities across the region, making the stability of the treaty particularly important.
The ruling also highlights the distinction between seeking to amend an international agreement through mutually agreed procedures and attempting to alter its obligations unilaterally.
The IWT has endured wars, prolonged diplomatic tensions and periods of limited bilateral engagement. Its continued operation demonstrates the importance of rules-based mechanisms in managing shared resources when relations between neighbouring states become strained.
For Pakistan, the outcome provides an opportunity to frame the decision not merely as a bilateral legal victory, but as an affirmation of international law, treaty compliance and peaceful dispute resolution.
The central message from the ruling is clear: the Indus Waters Treaty remains in force, its obligations continue to bind both parties, and disputes concerning shared waters must be addressed through the legal mechanisms agreed by India and Pakistan.
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