On COVID-19’s impact on Russia’s economy, see Anders Åslund, “The Russian Economy in Health, Oil, and Economic Crisis,” Atlantic Council, May 27, 2020, https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/commentary/long-take/the-russian-economy-in-health-oil-and-economic-crisis/.
97 Defense Intelligence Agency, Russia Military Power: Building a Military to Support Great Power Aspirations, report, June 2017, p. 16, https://www.dia.mil/Portals/27/Documents/News/Military%20Power%20Publications/Russia%20Military%20Power%20Report%202017.pdf.
98 Nadège Rolland, “A Concise Guide to the Belt and Road Initiative.”
99 Zhao Lei, “3 Sea Routes Planned for Belt & Road Initiative,” China Daily, June 21, 2017, http://english.www.gov.cn/state_council/ministries/2017/06/21/content_281475692760102.htm.
100 Liu Yazhou, “The Grand National Strategy,” Chinese Law & Government, Vol. 40, No. 2 (December 2014), pp. 13-36, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2753/CLG0009-4609400201?journalCode=mclg20.
101 Philippe Le Corre, prepared testimony for hearing on “Chinese Investment and Influence in Europe,” House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats, 115th Congress, 2nd Session, May 23, 2018, p. 2, http://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA14/20180523/108355/HHRG-115-FA14-Wstate-LeCorreP-20180523.pdf. Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) and the Rhodium Group (RHG) released a 2019 update report on Chinese FDI in European Union (EU) stating that the trend declined in the last three years largely due to domestic variables, shrinking Chinese global FDI, and growing regulatory scrutiny in host economies. See Agatha Kratz, Mikko Huotari, Thilo Haneman, and Rebecca Arcesati, “Chinese FDI in Europe: 2019 Update,” Rhodium Group, April 8, 2020, https://rhg.com/research/chinese-fdi-in-europe-2019-update/; and Thilo Hanemann, Mikko Huotari, and Agatha Kratz, “Chinese FDI in Europe: 2018 Trends and Impacts of New Screening Policies,” MERICS, June 3, 2019, https://www.merics.org/en/papers-on-china/chinese-fdi-in-europe-2018.
102 Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Christopher A. Ford, “Competitive Strategy vis-à-vis China: The Case Study of Civil Nuclear Cooperation,” remarks to the Project 2049 Institute, Arlington, VA, June 24, 2019, https://www.state.gov/competitive-strategy-vis-a-vis-china-the-case-study-of-civil-nuclear-cooperation/; Sam Reynolds, “Why the Civil Nuclear Trap is Part and Parcel of the Belt and Road Strategy” The Diplomat, July 5, 2018, https://thediplomat.com/2018/07/why-the-civil-nuclear-trap-is-part-and-parcel-of-the-belt-and-road-strategy/; and “China Could Build 30 ‘Belt and Road’ Nuclear Reactors by 2030: Official,” Reuters, June 20, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-nuclearpower/china-could-build-30-belt-and-road-nuclear-reactors-by-2030-official-idUSKCN1TL0HZ.
103 “UK Made ‘a Very Bad Decision’ on Huawei, Chinese Envoy Says,” editorial, Xinhua, July 20, 2020, http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-07/20/c_139226918.htm; “UK and China Relationship ‘Seriously Poisoned,’ Says Beijing’s Ambassador,” BBC News, July 30, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-53595423; Laura Hughes and Helen Warrell, “China Envoy Warns of ‘Consequences’ If Britain Rejects Huawei,” Financial Times, July 6, 2020, https://www.ft.com/content/3d67d1c1-98ff-439a-90a1-099c18621ee9; and Ben Quinn, “China Warns UK Relations are at a ‘Historical Juncture’ over Hinkley Point,” The Guardian, August 8, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/08/china-warns-uk-relations-historical-juncture-hinkley-point-liu-xiaoming.
104 Michael Doran and Peter Rough, “China’s Emerging Middle Eastern Kingdom,” Tablet Magazine, August 2, 2020, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/china-middle-eastern-kingdom.
105 Michal Meidan, China’s Energy Security at 70 (Oxford, UK: University of Oxford, October 2019), p. 2, https://www.oxfordenergy.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Chinas-energy-security-at-70.pdf.
106 “The Growing Appetite for Armed Drones in the Middle East,” The Economist, March 9, 2019, https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2019/03/09/the-growing-appetite-for-armed-drones-in-the-middle-east; and Zeina Karam, “Report: China is Driving Use of Armed Drones in the Middle East,”