Belt and Road (China)

tracked under Infrastructure ▸ Megaprojects

state of play · Infrastructure

A drone carrying Semtex, a military-grade plastic explosive not commercially available, was placed beside a Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport overnight August 5; a DHL cargo aircraft struck an unknown object during its climb; investigators are searching for a second suspected flying object; German and NATO investigators are focusing on Russia as the likely actor. German Interior Minister Dobrindt described the incident as 'a new threat' to German infrastructure security. Leipzig/Halle is DHL's primary European cargo hub; the An-124 is one of the world's largest heavy-lift cargo aircraft. Counter-drone perimeter systems did not detect the tarmac-placed device, exposing a structural security gap at cargo facilities across NATO territory.

Auckland Transport confirmed the opening date of New Zealand's NZ$5.5 billion City Rail Link on August 5-6, after advertising billboards across Auckland accidentally revealed the date before an official announcement. The underground rail tunnel, discussed in Auckland for roughly a century, will allow trains to run through the city centre rather than terminating at Britomart station, the single piece of infrastructure that most changes Auckland's transport network capacity.

A Mediterranean cable cut blacked out Syria's internet for 48 hours before engineers rerouted via Cyprus and Turkey and spliced the fibre, a 1997-vintage single cable exposing how thin national redundancy is. Data-center load is straining the largest US eastern grid. The seabed and the grid remain the persistent single points of failure.

Watch: Leipzig/Halle investigation attribution and formal security-response from NATO cargo facility operators; whether the DHL aircraft collision and the tarmac drone are connected; CRL opening ridership figures in first weeks; cable-repair capacity and grid build-out.

China's state-led infrastructure and investment programme, launched in 2013, spanning 140-plus countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.

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Global Gateway (EU)

The European Union's flagship overseas infrastructure programme, launched in 2021 as a rules-based alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative.

·4 takes ·Jul 3

Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI)

The G7's flagship infrastructure initiative, launched 2022 to channel US$600bn into emerging markets as a values-driven counter to China's Belt and Road.

·4 takes ·Jul 3

Xi Jinping

China's paramount leader since 2012, Xi Jinping holds unified control over the Communist Party, military, and state, making him the dominant individual actor reshaping the international order.

·4 takes ·Jul 3

Kazakhstan signs €10bn-plus in EU deals, led by a $7.3bn Air Astana Airbus order

Thirty commercial agreements close during Tokayev's Brussels visit; Astana offers 21 of the EU's 34 critical raw materials and the two sides initial a visa facilitation deal

The Long Game ·6 takes ·Jun 25

Belt and Road runs hottest ever, $213bn in 2025, tilting to energy, mining and tech

China's overseas corridor programme posts record deal value as it pivots from megaports to energy, critical minerals and 'small but smart' projects

Whose Money ·15 takes ·Jun 25

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