From Thailand to Kenya, trains run on tracks
from steel mills in China’s northeast, a rust-
belt region that is trying to capitalize on a
multibillion-dollar national initiative to build
ports, railways and other projects abroad.
Announced in 2012, the Belt and Road Initiative
is helping to boost demand from developing
countries at a time when China’s economy is
slowing and exporters face U.S. tariff hikes in a
war over trade and technology.
It calls for building railways, power plants and
other infrastructure across an arc of more than
60 countries from the South Pacific through Asia
to Europe and Africa. Estimates of the total cost
of planned projects run as high as $6 trillion,
though it’s unclear if all will be built.
Ansteel, in Liaoning province, has won bids to
supply steel for railways in Thailand and Kenya.