Eswatini's Chinese dam project highlights limits of Beijing's Taiwan pressure

Eswatini, one of the few remaining countries with formal ties to Taiwan, is hosting a $136mn dam project by Chinese contractors, illustrating Beijing's inability to fully leverage economic pressure to sever diplomatic recognition. The project proceeds despite China's 'One China' policy, underscoring the pragmatic limits of its diplomatic isolation campaign. This matters as it signals that Beijing's economic statecraft has boundaries, potentially influencing other holdout states.