Moldova has sought support of the EU and international community to safeguard its democratic processes against Russian subversion. Russian tactics include election interference, disinformation, and economic blackmail.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been expected to enter a new phase following the PRC’s Third BRI Forum in October 2023. With over 150 countries participating in the BRI, China’s plans for its signature initiative have appeared increasingly political and less focused on infrastructure development.

Since 2013, Russia has sought to undermine U.S. influence in Latin America through strategic investments and an elaborate information ecosystem, involving local institutions, media, and civil society. Persistent anti-U.S. and antidemocratic messaging are main features of the information operations.

The third Belt and Road Forum, in October 2023, demonstrated that many Southeast Asian leaders see China as the key to their nations’ prosperity, helping them to build infrastructure and adopt new technologies. That dependence may discourage leaders from challenging China’s anti-democratic rhetoric.

Companies linked to Russia’s Wagner Group have maintained and expanded their influence in Sudan’s gold mining sector through a partnership with local military companies. In exchange for weapons and advisors, Wagner was given gold and mining rights, not subject to Western sanctions.

While the Chinese and Indonesian government began cooperating during the COVID-19 pandemic on vaccine distribution, Beijing has recently increased its investment in Indonesia’s health sector to push back against negative perceptions of China among a majority of Indonesians.

The government of Montenegro partnered with a Chinese corporation that is known for maintaining secrecy in other regional projects. This lack of accountability is characteristic of Chinese Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects.

China’s investments in European businesses opened opportunities for elite capture by offering jobs or board appointments to retired politicians and other influential individuals. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Italy has taken a more skeptical look at these investments.

Beijing secured the rights to build a new railway linking Xinjiang with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan after many delays. The new project could advance China’s geopolitical interests and secure support among Central Asian elites for Chinese legitimacy claims in Xinjiang .

The UK government passed a bill banning foreign state ownership of national media outlets in response to a takeover bid of The Telegraph by a UAE-backed investment fund. This decision is part of an effort to safeguard press freedom and counter foreign influence of the information space in the UK.

The Biden administration has ordered an investigation into Chinese-made smart vehicles that pose national security risks including data collection, remote controlling and espionage. US officials are concerned that Chinese companies are finding ways to evade tariffs and pre-existing restrictions placed on Chinese cars.

The 16+1 Initiative, a regional bloc of China and post-communist Eastern European states, has reversed progress towards more transparent socioeconomic systems. The initiative has created the bilateral infrastructure for the PRC to execute elite capture, undermining the countries’ Western allies.

Through the Belt and Road Initiative and Free Trade Agreements, the CCP has been using economic investment and coercion to further its foreign policy goals in South Asia. A multilayered propaganda system has contributed to this effort, which includes state-controlled media and academic partnerships.

Saudi Arabia and Iran both attempted to influence politics in Central Asia through economic engagement. Through appeals to shared Islamic identity, both Riyadh and Tehran have attempted to crowd out the other and gain allies in their geopolitical conflict with each other.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has signed agreements with Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. The deals, mainly pertaining to trade and oil, represent Iran’s effort to supplant the United States as a partner. Raisi has tapped into anti-democratic and anti-American sentiment to cultivate the partnerships.