KUANTAN, Malaysia -- A Chinese state-owned contractor broke ground Wednesday on Malaysia's largest railway project, symbolizing Southeast Asia's growing economic reliance on Beijing's financial clout and technological prowess.
While the project is a major coup for China, which is aggressively promoting its Belt and Road Initiative to develop infrastructure throughout Eurasia and Southeast Asia, the 55 billion ringgit ($12.8 billion) deal has critics questioning Malaysia's transparency in dishing out big-ticket projects.
