The Australian federal government recently resolved to scrap the Victorian state government’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The timing of this decision needs to be contemplated as ongoing developments may trouble bilateral relations between Australia and China, writes John Varano.

The People’s Republic of China's (PRC) overseas investment in critical infrastructure poses a significant challenge to Australia and to other nations that don’t share China’s strategic interests. This report argues that Australia should adopt a whole-of-nation approach to safeguarding the resilience of critical infrastructure in an era of PRC maritime–technological expansion.

China is often said to be pursuing ‘debt-trap diplomacy’: luring poor, developing countries into agreeing unsustainable loans to pursue infrastructure projects so that, when they experience financial difficulty, Beijing can seize the asset, thereby extending its strategic or military reach. This paper demonstrates that the evidence for such views is limited.

There is growing agreement between Australia, India, Japan and the United States that as China rises in Asia, the rules-based order needs strengthening and defending; but does the revived Security Quadrilateral Dialogue have any real prospect of rebalancing relationships in the region? Lavina Lee explains.

The COVID-19 pandemic has ignited new debate on China’s flagship foreign policy, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Against the official position of the Australian federal government, the state of Victoria has recently signed on.