Timor-Leste and China: Navigating the fine line of power and progress
“In particular, the phrase ‘one grid, one road, one port’ is used to describe China’s iconic infrastructure projects in Timor-Leste. They refer specifically to Timor-Leste’s national power grid that started construction in 2009 and which now provides uninterrupted power supply nationwide, the Suai Highway Phase I (a 30 kilometre-long highway completed in 2018 to support the development of oil and gas industry in Timor-Leste’s southern coast) and the Tibar Bay Port (opened in 2022 to improve Dili’s maritime connectivity including facilitating its oil and gas exports).”
“China has also built key government buildings such as the presidential palace, the ministry of foreign affairs, the ministry of defence as well as civilian structures like hospitals (for both civilian and military use) and schools.”
“And since 2017, China has embarked on an agriculture technology cooperation project to mechanise corn production to improve its efficiency and productivity. This project has been expanded to include more areas in Timor-Leste as well as more crops (beyond corn to rice and soybeans). China has further built two 5,000-tonne grain depots in Bacau and Manatuto, two key cities in the north of Timor-Leste with an agriculture base, to store, process and distribute the grains produced.”
“Even more significantly, Timor-Leste has identified more closely with China on the Taiwan issue…”
https://www.thinkchina.sg/politics/timor-leste-and-china-navigating-fine-line-power-and-progress