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"The BRI is largely built around China’s bilateral relations with other countries. Bilateral memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and joint statements supporting the initiative are the main forms of cooperation agreements that anchor the BRI. The legal terms in these agreements, though, are relatively weak. The validity periods stipulated in the MoUs are typically short and signatories can withdraw at any time. To a certain extent, MoUs have become a potentially unstable way for China to codify cooperation with other countries. They appear to be more political overtures than genuine commitments to economic and business cooperation."

The words in Chinese agreements express intentions, as they do in US and EU agreements. The issue is not the words or their 'binding power' (nil) but the actions that flow from those expressed intentions.

And it is there we find the real strength of China's agreements, and the real weakness of ours.

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