For the past two years, the administration of China president Xi Jinping has been pursuing a centrepiece foreign policy plan the One Belt, One Road policy.
The aim of this grand plan is to build pan-Asia ties on land and via the sea, effectively reconstructing the old Silk Road routes of centuries gone by.
To do that effectively, China needs to develop capital markets and cultivate business ties, sometimes with countries that don't particularly like it. So Beijing is adopting a sensible route it is approaching countries in vulnerable circumstances that need financial muscle.
The strategy seems to be paying dividends in Southeast Asia....