View All Analysis | March 31, 2021, 9:39 a.m.

Browse our analysis section for news and articles on topics such as China's Belt and Road Initiative (OBOR), the world's evolving digital infrastructure competition, and the stakes for U.S. policy.

China Port Acquisition Stalled | Aug. 31, 2020, 9:04 a.m.

Acquisition of a French shipping portfolio by China Merchants Port Holdings, a Chinese state-owned enterprise known for its controversial acquisition of Sri Lanka's Hambantota port, has been stalled by the Indian and Vietnamese governments in a bid to protect ports in Gujarat and Ho Chi Minh City.

Greece Courts Chinese Investment | Aug. 18, 2020, 9:20 a.m.

Amid economic contraction, Greece’s government has increasingly turned to China for investment in power transmission, an underwater link, and the seaport of Piraeus, Nikkei reports.

Hidden Harbors: China’s State-backed Shipping Industry | July 8, 2020, 3:05 p.m.

China's state-owned and private companies are increasingly dominant across the global maritime supply chain, aided by an opaque system of formal and informal government support that is unrivaled in both its scale and scope.

BRI Rails Get a Boost | May 11, 2020, 9:28 a.m.

Supply chain disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic have increased traffic along China-Europe rail lines, which Beijing has promoted heavily under its Belt and Road Initiative, Nikkei reports.

BRI Debt Concerns Rise in Djibouti | April 27, 2020, 9:48 a.m.

Djibouti has become a linchpin in China's Belt and Road Initiative, but the U.S. is concerned that the financial toll of Covid-19 may increase Djibouti's risk of falling into a "debt trap" created by high-levels of Chinese lending, Nikkei reports.

Coronavirus Complicates Shipping to China | March 18, 2020, 1:08 p.m.

The recent outbreak of African swine flu in China has pushed demand for imported meat to record numbers, but pork exporters globally face difficulty shipping meat to China due to quarantines that delay shipping within the country. Experts suggest it could take six weeks for shipping chains to recover, Nikkei reports.

Alibaba's Belgium Hub Sparks Protests | Feb. 25, 2020, 9:44 a.m.

Environmental and anti-globalization groups in Belgium are seeking to halt the construction of a logistics hub by Chinese company Alibaba, claiming the $80 million project will increase pollution and create only low-quality jobs, Nikkei reports.

Afghanistan Uses CPEC Port | Jan. 23, 2020, 9:22 a.m.

Afghanistan recently began shipping goods through Pakistan's Gwadar Port, part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, in a development experts believe may increase Kabul's participation in China's Belt and Road Initiative, Nikkei reports.

U.S., Australia Bid on Subic Bay Shipyard | Dec. 5, 2019, 9:36 a.m.

A U.S. firm and Australian shipbuilder have bid on the Philippines' largest shipyard in Subic Bay near the South China Sea, a project which has also attracted Chinese interest, Nikkei reports. The shipyard is located in an area that once hosted the largest overseas U.S. defense facility.

$1.5 Billion Hambantota Port Attracts Business | Oct. 30, 2019, 9:25 a.m.

Commercial activity has increased at Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port since the controversial 2017 deal that gave China an 85% stake and 99-year lease, and China says it intends for the port to become a South Asia hub, Nikkei reports.

Vietnam To Expand Container Terminals | Oct. 11, 2018, 10:13 a.m.

Vietnam National Shipping Lines, the state-owned marine transporter known as Vinalines, won approval recently to build two large container terminals at Lach Huyen International Gateway Port in a $302 million project.

Japan’s Nippon Express Launches China-Europe Train Service | Sept. 27, 2018, 11:02 a.m.

Japan’s Nippon Express will begin offering regular freight train shipping between China and Europe in February, as China’s Belt and Road Initiative accelerates the transfer of goods between the two markets, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

Russia and China in the Arctic | March 19, 2018, 10:46 a.m.

Quotes and Quotas is a digest of phrases and facts that help explain Asia’s infrastructure push.

Hydrogen and Green Shipping | Nov. 30, 2017, 3:15 p.m.

On November 30th the CSIS Energy and National Security Program hosted "Hydrogen and Green Shipping: Zero Emission Fuel in the Maritime Sector" to discuss the important role that hydrogen fuel technology could play for shipping in the transition to a low-carbon future.

China Is Increasing Investment in Regional Ports | Sept. 28, 2017, 10:13 a.m.

China to Shape International Trade Via Belt and Road | July 19, 2017, 2:27 p.m.

As an Asia Pacific power with enormous economic and strategic stakes in the Belt and Road region, the United States cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and watch these infrastructure developments abroad unfold.

China's COSCO is Securing Xi's Belt and Road | July 17, 2017, 8:29 a.m.

State-owned shipping giant China Cosco Shipping is poised to invest over $260 million in overseas ports and logistics hubs, helping to secure President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road initiative overseas.

Japan, China Vie for Strategic Port Access | June 8, 2017, 9:42 a.m.

Japan and China are vying for influence over strategic shipping routes through the Bay of Bengal by competing for shares in various ports throughout the region.

ASEAN Grows Cross-border Shipping Services | May 22, 2017, 8:40 a.m.

Arctic Maritime Connections | May 17, 2017, 9 a.m.

Profound changes are happening in the Arctic Ocean, especially the increases in marine access from sea ice retreat, but these changes do not foretell a retooling of global maritime trade routes as many speculate.

Russian Company Opens Ferry to N. Korea | April 19, 2017, 9:05 a.m.

Navigating Tomorrow’s Arctic | April 11, 2017, 9 a.m.

An Arctic with less summertime sea ice presents numerous commercial opportunities...Making the most of these opportunities, however, will require cooperation between industry and the international community and careful management informed by science.

Disruption on the Docks | Feb. 7, 2017, 10 a.m.

The fastest growing container trade in the world is intra-Asian trade. It is here that the business case for automated terminal investment is strongest.

OBOR on the Ground | Nov. 30, 2016, 9 a.m.

It could take decades for OBOR to unfold. But it is a development that is worthy of greater attention from U.S. researchers and policymakers today.

CEO Refutes Shipping Decline | Nov. 29, 2016, 12:05 a.m.

In an interview with Nikkei Asian Review, the head of the world's fifth-largest shipping company says maritime markets are improving and industry overcapacity is on the decline.

China in Europe | Nov. 23, 2016, 9:03 a.m.

What is new about China's Belt and Road is that it is more likely to succeed outside of Eurasia, leading to new opportunities but also unexpected challenges for Europe and the United States.

Marco Polo and the Mongol Hordes | Nov. 16, 2016, 8 a.m.

Like its predecessors, China’s efforts at unifying Eurasia are driven by several factors: a desire to boost trade, a need to find new markets for firms struggling with overcapacity at home, and a desire to set the rules of the new Silk Road.

Asia Ships Record Cargo to U.S. | Nov. 16, 2016, 12:05 a.m.

Hanjin Sheds Half Its Workers | Nov. 11, 2016, 12:05 a.m.

Asia strains to keep its shippers afloat | Oct. 31, 2016, 9:33 a.m.

Asia's Next Act | Oct. 25, 2016, 8:30 a.m.

If decades of torrid growth have been the opening scene on Asia’s economic stage, the region’s reconnecting—through new roads, railways, and other infrastructure—could be the next act.