Economy

The Buddha Dordenma statue in Bhutan's capital Thimphu. Hydropower exports to India have been the primary driver of Bhutan's rapid economic growth in recent years.
Politics

Mounting Indian debts hang over Bhutan election

Parties in runoff split on whether to accelerate dam development

17 October 2018
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde announced that Pakistan has formally asked for financial assistance on Oct. 11.
Economy

Pakistan formally asks IMF for help

Any bailout will require 'absolute transparency,' warns Lagarde

11 October 2018
BRI in progress: A freight train bound for Malaszewicze, Poland leaves the railway port in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, China.
Economy

China's Belt and Road investment hits high as overall FDI falls

Record sum poured into initiative in 2017 looks set to be beaten this year

8 October 2018
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan visits Saudi Arabia on Sept. 18.
Belt and Road

Pakistan pulls out all stops to avert economic crisis

Khan revises budget and seeks Saudi participation in Belt and Road projects

26 September 2018
The China-backed Colombo Port City in Sri Lanka  @GettyImages
Belt and Road

Thailand sees shortcut to Belt and Road with Sri Lanka trade deal

Two nations to kick off bilateral FTA talks in Bangkok on Thursday

20 September 2018
Prime Minister and the leader of Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf party Imran Khan seized power in an election in July. 
Economy

Pakistan rules out possible IMF bailout funds to repay China

Officials say Islamabad examining options as it seeks way out of debt crisis

3 September 2018
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 8, 2016. 
Belt and Road

Sri Lanka sinks deeper into China's grasp as debt woes spiral

Colombo to borrow $1bn from China and issue $250mn Panda bonds before year-end

29 August 2018
The attack took place in southwestern Balochistan Province, the heart of the $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. @AFP/Jiji
Belt and Road

Terrorist attacks show Pakistan's need to reassure China on security

Suicide bombing on key part of Belt and Road may make Beijing nervous

21 August 2018
A freight train bound for Tehran is pictured in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in May.
Belt and Road

Turkey crisis rattles Asian nations with rising Belt and Road debts

Costly Chinese projects could leave emerging economies with a hangover

19 August 2018
Pakistanis are unlikely to give Imran Khan much time to make good on his election promises.
Politics

Imran Khan faces economic tests in Pakistan's political caldron

Former cricket star to be sworn in as prime minister on Saturday

17 August 2018
Anger over road deaths in Bangladesh spilled over into violent protests.
Politics

Violent 'moral uprising' threatens Bangladesh government

Thousands of youths protest lax road safety and lagging job growth

13 August 2018
Pakistan barely has enough foreign reserves to finance imports for two months. This container is being loaded on to the first Chinese container ship at the port of Gwadar.
International relations

Pakistan economic crisis puts Chinese investments under spotlight

Loans from Beijing tied to secrecy but IMF would likely demand transparency

10 August 2018
Imran Khan, expected to become Pakistan's next prime minister, plans ambitious tax reform measures. 
Economy

Imran Khan walks tightrope to revamp Pakistan's tax collection

Reforms seen as essential to IMF assistance but face obstacles in parliament

6 August 2018
Imran Khan, who is expected to become the next prime minister, addresses the nation after the general election results were announced in Islamabad on July 26.
Economy

Belt and Road headache awaits Khan as Pakistan PM

Dwindling reserves and mounting debts to put new government in fiscal bind

31 July 2018
A supporter of Imran Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, waves a flag during a campaign rally on July 22 in Karachi, Pakistan.
Politics

Pakistan goes to polls as debt reckoning looms

Islamabad likely to need bailout from IMF or Beijing

24 July 2018
A Chinese national flag is affixed to a buffer stop on a railway at a freight yard in the Kazakh border town of Khorgos.
Belt and Road

China's Belt and Road stirs up local anxieties

Loans and investments ignore profits and blur economics and security

24 July 2018
Soybeans being loaded at a port in China's Jiangsu Province. China, the world's largest consumer of soybeans, relies on U.S. imports for up to 30% of its needs.
Trade war

Soybean showdown: China removes tariffs in Asia

Beijing touts alternatives to US, but effect may be limited

27 June 2018
AIIB President Jin Liqun says the bank looks to finance quality projects that avoid pushing countries into the "debt trap" faced by some borrowers related to Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Economy

No 'debt trap' with AIIB, president vows

India's Modi wants greater involvement with China-led development bank

27 June 2018
Laborers constructing a flyover in New Delhi, India in February. 
Economy

China-led AIIB to spend $3.5bn with focus on India

Bank says it is 'apolitical' and wants to connect Asia and Africa

25 June 2018
(© Nikkei montage/Source photos by Getty Images)
Asia Insight

China emerges as wild card in elections across Asia

Incumbents draw on Beijing's support as opponents tap resentment of its influence

5 June 2018
A jewelry shop in Peshawar: Pakistan has struggled to get the wealthy to pay income tax.
17 May 2018
Executives from the Dhaka, Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges attend Monday's signing ceremony in Bangladesh. Chinese investors may secure funding more easily for special economic zones that Beijing is building in Bangladesh. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
17 May 2018
The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges teamed to buy a 25% stake in Bangladesh's main bourse. They also will provide $37 million in technical support. (Photo by A.Z.M. Anas)
International relations

China's Belt and Road builds trail of stakes in Asian bourses

Shanghai-Shenzhen group beats Indian bid for share of Bangladesh's main exchange

15 May 2018
The Bangladeshi government is promoting the launch of the country's first satellite, to be controlled from a ground station in Joydebpur, north of Dhaka, as a milestone ahead of national elections. (Photo by Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Economy

Bangladesh to join space age amid skepticism about costs

Government hopes satellite launch will help image ahead of elections

10 May 2018
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, and Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Oli during a ceremonial reception for the latter in New Delhi on April 7.
International relations

China's specter looms over Modi's Nepal visit

Indian PM faces diplomatic hurdles but could win votes back home

10 May 2018