GettyIn dealing with China, Malaysia has dared to do something Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Philippines didn’t: bring Beijing back to the negotiating table to cut the cost of the investment projects assigned to Chinese contractors. The East Coast Rail is one of the dozens of China’s infrastructure projects around the world – a bid to write the next chapter of globalization and advance Beijing’s geopolitical agenda. That’s what happened to Sri Lanka. “The overpriced projects left Sri Lanka owing $8 billion, or around 10 percent of the island’s debt. Back in August he canceled the East Coast Rail Link project, forcing China back to the negotiating table.

Source: Forbes April 13, 2019 20:26 UTC