China is the largest producer and exporter of cars in the world, but you won’t find its vehicles on U.S. streets, due to tariffs that have made them virtually impossible to import. Travel to places like Mexico, Argentina, and many European countries and you’ll quickly notice the prevalence of Chinese cars, especially electric vehicles. Now, Canada is the next destination: The country has significantly decreased tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles amid a souring relationship with the United States.

As America continues to engage in trade wars with allies, Beijing has been ramping up overseas investments to their highest levels ever. For years, China has been looking to partner with other countries to develop its “Belt and Road Initiative.” This economic strategy aims to fund and build massive overseas infrastructure projects like roads, railways and ports, opening up new markets for the country’s domestic industries. Even though some of these projects involve green technology, there have been environmental consequences. For example, a hydroelectric dam in Indonesia built and financed in part by Chinese state-owned corporations, threatens to eradicate one of the world’s most endangered species of orangutan in the Sumatra forest.

All of Inside Climate News’ reporting is made available free to our audience. Please consider donating to our newsroom to support nonprofit environmental journalism: insideclimatenews.org/support