The Heat: China’s growing influence

The Heat

President Xi JinpingPresident Xi Jinping

It was October 2013 when Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Maritime Silk Road – now part of Beijing’s One Belt One Road initiative.

The overall goal was to connect China’s landlocked western provinces with Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

After that came the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, designed to boost ties in the region. And while the degree and nature of China’s importance may vary among ASEAN countries, China has become an important economic partner, with trade jumping from $60 billion in 2003 to over $500 billion 11 years later.

For more information, CGTN’s Han Peng reports.

Tonight’s panel takes a look at the economic success and the growing role China is taking throughout Asia:

  • Richard Javad Heydarian, a teacher at De La Salle University in Manila where he specializes in Asian geopolitics and economic affairs
  • Ei Sun Oh, principal adviser at Malaysia’s Pacific Research Center
  • Qinduo Xu, political analyst with China Radio International
  • Sourabh Gupta, resident senior fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies   

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