China's belt loosening
China's economy isn't skipping ahead as it once did, but its role as an engine for global expansion is only rising
There is a Chinese proverb that says: "To become rich, one must first build roads." As IMF president Christine Lagarde pointed out in mid-May during China's Belt and Road summit, with roads goes new ports, power and other industrial infrastructure as well as vastly improved social benefits from schooling to health. It's only now that economists are beginning to recognise that the vast Belt and Road (or One Belt, One Road—Obor) initiative, popularly known as the "Silk Road", will drive demand for energy right across the region for years to come. And Obor is gathering momentum at the very time that the Chinese economy is steadily becoming more consumption than manufacturing and capital-led. Ac
Also in this section
16 April 2026
Demand for oil is falling because supply cannot meet it, not because it is no longer required
16 April 2026
The continent has an immediate opportunity to make the most of its energy resources by capturing gas that is currently slipping away
15 April 2026
The continent is seeing political pushback to climate plans, corporate reassessment of transition goals and rising supply risk in a fractured global order
15 April 2026
The Middle East energy crisis may turn out to be pivotal to the industry’s long-term expansion, but significant challenges still stand in its way
