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The United States on September 15, 2020 imposed Global Magnitsky Sanctions[i] on Union Development Group Co., Ltd.,[ii] the Chinese state-owned company (“UDG”) behind the Dara Sakor development project that is part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (“BRI” also known as the New Silk Road or One Belt, One Road). The move is significant and might signal a ratcheting up of U.S. opposition to the BRI, which has largely constituted rhetoric, diplomatic lobbying,[iii] and relatively tepid competition, such as by the establishment of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).[iv]
Notes
[i] Hdeel Abdelhady, Global Magnitsky Corruption and Human Rights Sanctions Overview, MassPoint Legal and Strategy Advisory PLLC (Aug. 18, 2018), at https://masspointpllc.com/global-magnitsky-sanctions-overview/ (last visited Oct. 19, 2020).
[ii] Notice of OFAC Sanctions Actions, 85 Fed. Reg. 58,427 (Sept. 18, 2020).
[iii] Orange Wang, US steps up belt and road offensive saying it offers fairer deals than China’s ‘debt trap’, South China Morning Post, May 3, 2019, at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3008640/us-steps-belt-and-road-offensive-saying-it-offers-fairer-deals (last visited Oct. 19, 2020).
[iv] The DFC was established by the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act of 2018, and is an amalgamation of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the Development Credit Authority (DCA) office of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Responding to the BRI and China’s international development finance activities was a “key policy rationale” for the BUILD Act. Congressional Research Service, BUILD Act: Frequently Asked Questions About the New U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Jan. 15, 2019.