German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

The Belt and Road Initiative and Southeast Asian Countries: The Debt Curse Perspective; WP “Political Implications of the BRI in Malaysia”

This is a collaborative research project of 11 researchers led by a research team at the University of Kyoto (Japan). It analyses the political and economic consequences of Chinese investments within the framework of the BRI and focuses on countries in Southeast Asia.
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 2021-2023

Team

PD Dr. Andreas Ufen

Senior Research Fellow

Cooperation Partners

Kyoto University German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)

Head

Ass. Prof. Dr. Akihisa Mori

Kyoto University

Research Questions

This particular project examines the political implications of the BRI in Malaysia, especially the stances of political parties regarding Chinese investments in major infrastructure projects such as the East Coast Railway Link.

Contribution to International Research

The BRI project contributes to research on Chinese investment strategies and its impact on political and economic processes in Southeast Asia.

Research Design and Methods

The overall project consists of individual smaller projects on different aspects of the BRI in a range of Southeast countries. It is thus a multi-disciplinary and comparative work. This specific project on Malaysia includes research stays in the country to gather material and to conduct interviews.

Preliminary Findings

The East Coast Railway Link is one of the most important infrastructure project in Malaysia and has a major impact on relations between China and Malaysia, but also on party politics in Malaysia.