China is gradually reducing its spending in Southeast Asia

China is gradually reducing its spending in Southeast Asia

China has cut development assistance to Southeast Asia as Beijing directs money elsewhere, giving up its position as the region’s single largest source of funding, according to a report by an Australian think tank.

China was Southeast Asia’s biggest single source of development assistance between 2015 and 2019, but was overtaken by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lowy Institute said in the report released on Sunday.

China’s contribution to the region fell from $7.6bn in 2015 to $3.9bn in 2021, according to the Sydney-based Lowy Institute.

In total, China disbursed $37.9bn – nearly 20 percent of the region’s total financing – between 2015 and 2021, equal to $5.53bn on average annually.

Southeast Asia received about $200bn in total from partners overall during the period.

China’s funding, mostly consisting of loans, has been used to back major infrastructure projects across the region, including high-speed rail projects in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

“The most striking trend in China’s [official development finance, ODF] in Southeast Asia between 2015 and 2021 is the decline in China’s relative importance as a partner,” the Lowy Institute said in the report, predicting that the “lingering effects of the pandemic” would continue to disrupt Beijing’s development financing.

“In 2015, China provided some 24 percent of the region’s ODF. By 2021, this had fallen to 14 percent.”

In China’s place, other countries and partners, including the United States, Australia and Japan, are ramping up assistance as they compete for influence with Beijing, said Lowy Institute’s lead economist Roland Rajah.

“Intensifying geostrategic tensions between China and Western governments have also seen a growing focus on using development finance, particularly in infrastructure, as a means of competing for influence,” Rajah said.

“This makes an understanding of the scale and contours of [ODF] in Southeast Asia of critical interest to governments in the region and their development partners.”

New partners have also stepped up in the region, including the Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank – which provided about $225m a year in non-concessional loans, primarily to Indonesia – and India, which has focused about $70m a year in grants on neighbouring Myanmar.

Most of the region’s development funding – 80 percent – however, continues to come from traditional partners like development banks, Japan, South Korea, the European Union, the US and Australia, according to the report.

After China, Japan was the single largest non-institutional provider of development funds, spending $28.2bn.

South Korea contributed $20.4bn, followed by Germany, the United States, Australia and France with funding of between $5.34bn and $8.5bn.

There was a significant gap between pledged spending by partners and the amount of funding that was delivered.

Compared to the $298bn committed to the region for more than 100,00 projects between 2015 and 2021, only about $200bn was spent during the period.

Sources: aljazeera.com

Fastest Train in South East Asia

Fastest Train in South East Asia

China’s high-speed bullet trains for the 142-kilometer Indonesian Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) rolled off the assembly line in Qingdao, East China’s Shandong Province on Friday. It is China’s first high-speed bullet train export with a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour (km/h).

The Jakarta-Bandung HSR is the first high-speed railway project launched overseas that fully uses Chinese technology, standards and equipment.

It is a landmark project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which sets a good example for Southeast Asian countries, which are potential buyers of China’s bullet trains and rail systems, analysts and industry insiders said.

“More countries, especially Southeast Asian countries, may develop their high-speed railways and intercity rail transit with Chinese products, after seeing the examples of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR and the China-Laos Railway,” Sun Zhang, a railway expert at Shanghai Tongji University, told the Global Times on Friday.

Eleven pairs of high-speed electric multiple units (EMUs) and one set of comprehensive testing bullet railcars will be shipped to Indonesia very soon, which will lay a solid foundation for the completion of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR as scheduled and high quality, according to a statement sent from China Railway to the Global Times on Friday.

The railway project is expected to be completed in June 2023, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The designed speed of 350 km/h will shorten the travel time between Jakarta and Bandung, the capital of Indonesia’s West Java province, from more than three hours to about 40 minutes.

The high-speed EMU and comprehensive test train that rolled off the production line were developed with the advanced and mature technology of the Chinese standard Fuxing EMU at 350 km/h, and adapted to the local operating environment in Indonesia, said a person in charge at China Railway.

The EMU used on the Jakarta-Bandung HSR adopts intelligent sensing technology and is equipped with earthquake monitoring and early warning systems. Through more than 2,500 detection points located along the whole train, all key systems can be monitored and assessed in real time. The EMU also adopts high-standard corrosion-resistant design and advanced protection technology, making it more resistant to salt spray and ultraviolet radiation.

The train can achieve a safe start on a slope of 30 degrees. The train adopts a technology that can regenerate energy from the braking system, which is less carbon-intensive and more energy-efficient.

According to China Railway, the EMU for the Jakarta-Bandung HSR is designed to be capable of carrying 601 passengers, with one first-class car, one dining car and six second-class cars.

CRRC Qingdao Sifang Rolling Stock Research Institute (CRRC SRI) has provided a number of core system products, including a fire monitoring system, an AC/DC insulation monitoring system, the braking system and anti-vibration system, for the EMUs for Jakarta-Bandung HSR, CRRC SRI told the Global Times on Friday.

Smart technology makes fire and smoke monitoring systems smarter. The fire detector is self-learning, and can continuously upgrade itself during operation to make the alarm information more accurate, said CRRC SRI.

According to the institute, relevant parties gathered in Jakarta, Shanghai, Beijing and Qingdao to witness the EMUs rolling off the assembly line by video on Friday.

All the Jakarta-Bandung HSR tunnels have been completed, and more than 90 percent of the subgrade, bridge and station civil works have been completed. Track laying began on the main line in July.

The Jakarta-Bandung HSR is further proof that China’s technology and standards for high-speed rail have won international recognition, said Sun, the railway expert.

In July, two international railway standards mainly drafted and developed by China were published by the International Union of Railways. “Design of High-Speed Railways – Infrastructure” and “Design of High-Speed Railways – Power Supply” are both the first international railway standards in their related fields.

The standards introduced China’s design concepts based on its global experience in high-speed railway construction, promoted the country’s advanced technologies, such as power supply systems, and provided solutions for the design and construction of high-speed railways worldwide, said China State Railway Group.

China’s high-speed rail system spans different conditions, including extremely cold weather, frozen soil, mountainous areas, deserts, wet coastal areas and tropical regions, providing rich experience in building high-speed railways worldwide, especially in Southeast Asia, said Sun.

As of the end of 2021, China’s high-speed rail service exceeded 40,000 kilometers, accounting for more than two-thirds of the world’s total high-speed rail length.

Semanggi Interchange, Jakarta, the Oldest Interchange in Southeast Asia

Semanggi Interchange, Jakarta, the Oldest Interchange in Southeast Asia

The new Semanggi Interchange, Jakarta. is the oldest interchange in Jakarta and Southeast Asia, it’s a series of new overpasses and on-off ramps elegantly encircling the current clover roads connecting the capital’s main thoroughfare of Jalan Sudirman to toll road Jalan Gatot Subroto.

Estimated to increase traffic flow in the perpetually gridlocked area by 37% and illuminated with colorful LED lighting, the new interchange looks to be a feat of both engineering and aesthetics. As such, Jakarta Governor Djarot Syaiful Hidayat worries that is also likely to be a magnet for selfie-obsessed Indonesians who might dangerously stop on the interchange and get out in search of the perfect picture.

“So later, please don’t let passengers stop their cars and take pictures on the (Semanggi Interchange) ” Djarot told told reporters this morning as quoted by Wartakota.

Djarot previously banned motorcyclists from entering the interchange, also due to selfie fears.

The governor instead suggested that selfie seekers take photos from below the interchange curving roads, to better capture the shape and lights of the new infrastructure project.

The Semanggi Interchange project was initiated by former Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and the major construction was finished in just over a year. Not only was the construction time extremely efficient, so was the project’s budgeting. In fact, thanks to thrifty management, the project came in Rp 219 billion under budget. Officials have said the remainder would be spent on repairing sidewalks.