Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

China invested about $14.5B in BeltandRoad countries last year, 8.5% of the country's total overseas investment
Song Lihong, an inspector at the Comprehensive Department of the Ministry ofCommerce, said China has already signed agreements to cooperate with 14 countries stretchingfrom Asia to Europe. It has also built 56 trade parks in more than 20 countries. Last year, China's trade volume with countries along the Belt and Road reached 6.3 trillion yuan ($917 billion). A large number of infrastructure projects are either operating or underconstruction. (Xinhua)

Lanzhou moots diverting water from Baikal

Officials in China's arid northwest are thinking outside the box when it comes to suggesting solutions to the region's water problems. Urban planning authorities in Lanzhou, Northwest China's Gansu Province, have put together a proposal to divert water from the world's oldest and deepest freshwater body in Russia to alleviate local water shortages. The lake holds one-fifth of global surface fresh water. According to a statement from Lanzhou Urban & Rural Planning and Design Institute, since China has reached an agreement with Russia to construct a highway network and a gas pipeline, the institute is suggesting that it would not be too difficult to build a water pipeline from Lake Baikal. (GlobalTimes)

What Chinese Soft Power in the Middle East Reveals About Beijing’s Ambitions
Celebrations of the Chinese New Year late last month in many Arab countries showed the scale of China’s soft power in the Middle East, which is becoming an increasingly popular destination for Chinese tourists. The region is a testing ground for how soft power fits into China’s evolving economic agenda. (World Politics Review)

Faster train route links NW China logistics hub to Kazakhstan. Travel time shortened by almost 25% to 30 hours

A freight train on Saturday left a major logistics center in northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi for Kazakhstan's Almaty on a new route. Carrying auto parts, clothing, and household goods, the train crossed the China-Kazakhstan border at Xinjiang Autonomous Region's Horgos instead of Alataw Pass on the old route. Travel time between Urumqi and Almaty is shortened by almost 25 percent to 30 hours. Nan Jun, a manager with Urumqi Railway Bureau's international logistics company, said the new route also links countries like Iran and Turkey, beyond Central Asia. Xinjiang handled the passage of 223 freight trains from China to Europe last year and aims to more than double that figure to 500 in 2017. (Xinhua)

Cargo train services launched between China’s Xi'an, Uzbekistan, cutting delivery time from one month to 15-18 days
Cargo train services have begun between Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and Uzbekistan. A train carrying 1,000 tonnes of cotton yarn in 41 carriages arrived on Friday at Xinzhu station in Xi'an from Tashkent, said an official with Xi'an railway bureau.

The new route has cut the delivery time from one month to 15 to 18 days. (Xinhua)

Top-10 major projects planned to be implemented in Kyrgyzstan by Chinese investments (Akipress)

China cotton growers fear cuts in vital subsidies

Chewing on mutton and sipping baiju -- a typical meal in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region -- a group of weathered farmers eagerly discusses a familiar topic: the size of this season's cotton subsidy. "If there is no subsidy, it won't be possible to grow cotton," said Cheng Jinyu, who has been farming cotton for more than two decades. The neighbouring farmers nodded. Nikkei

Chinese city in restive Xinjiang offers huge rewards for anti-terror tips

Authorities in Xinjiang are offering 100 million yuan (US$14.5 million) in rewards for anti-terror tips, state media said, a policy that coincides with a dramatic rise in regional security spending. (Scmp)

China Cracks Down on Xinjiang's Christians in 'Anti-Terror' Campaign

Chinese authorities in the restive northwestern region of Xinjiang have banned all Christian activities not linked to state-approved churches, launching a regionwide crackdown on unofficial worship in the name of "anti-terrorism" measures, RFA has learned.Underground Catholic churches and Protestant house churches have been warned to halt all activity throughout the region, a religious affairs official confirmed on Thursday. (RFA)

Amazing China: In Kashgar, ancient trade route brews their cup of tea

Every morning at 9:30, 50-year-old teahouse owner Mamet Osman opens the door of Ostang Boi, and welcomes the day's first customers, most of whom are old folks, just like his ancestors did a century ago.Located in Kashgar City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ostang Boi is known for brewing various kinds of tea not only from across the country but also from worldwide, including fruit tea from Germany and Iran, and Turkish black tea. (Xinhua)

China believes domestic tourism can promote “ethnic unity”

YAKS graze on grassland near the turquoise waters of Karakul, a lake in the far western region of Xinjiang. Further south, towards the border with Pakistan, the imposing walls of a ruined hilltop fort at Tashkurgan mark a stop on the ancient Silk Road (see map). With such a rich landscape and history this region should be a magnet for Chinese tourists. Instead the area that accounts for more than one-sixth of China’s land mass is better known for violent unrest. The picturesque charms of the lake and fort can be enjoyed in near solitude. (TheEconomist)

EU probe threatens landmark China-Hungary rail project: Failure to follow 

EU procurement rules in a Chinese railway project that aims to link Belgrade and Budapest could become a setback for both China and Hungary’s economic and geopolitical ambitions in the region, experts say. The case also serves as a reminder for China about risks it needs to manage when building its new Silk Road trade routes from Asia to Europe and Africa. The Financial Times reported on 20 February that the European Commission was investigating the US$2.89bn Belgrade-Budapest rail project which has been agreed by Hungary, Serbia and China. (GBTimes)

Turkey abandons Chinese missiles, says it's ready to buy Russian
Senior Turkish officials say that Russia is now the leading contender in its seemingly never-ending competition to pick a multi-billion-dollar air defense system. The news will surely come as an annoyance to Turkey's NATO partners, which may be precisely the point, some analysts say.
To review: in 2013, Turkey surprised everyone by choosing a Chinese system for its multibillion dollar T-LORAMIDS air defense program, but after its NATO partners strongly objected, Ankara eventually abandoned the procurement and in 2015 announced that it would instead work on building the system in Turkey. (Eurasianet)

Russia Sells S-400 Complexes to China: Smart Move or a Mixed Blessing?
Russia’s S-400 Triumf (NATO classification: SA-21 Growler) air-defense weapons system appears to be generating ever greater interest among a number of potential customers around the world, including China, India, Turkey and Vietnam. For the time being, this fact is widely acclaimed in Russia. But how long will the positive excitement last?

Economic cooperation with Russia to expand

Bilateral trade between China and Russia will continue to increase in 2017 and both countries are beefing up efforts to strengthen strategic cooperation in sectors including energy resources, aerospace and cross-border infrastructure, a senior Chinese official noted on 21 February. "Economic and trade ties between China and Russia are a vital economic foundation of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, and with increasing practical cooperation, the prospects for bilateral ties are bright," Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng told the Global Times at a press conference in Beijing. China's investment into Russia has so far amounted to $42 billion, making China to be Russia's fourth-largest investment source country, according to Gao. (GlobalTimes)

Mystery deepens over Chinese forces in Afghanistan 

A mystery over recent sightings of Chinese military vehicles patrolling inside Afghanistan deepened last week as Beijing denied its troops were in Afghanistan but confirmed it was undertaking “joint counter-terrorism operations” with Kabul. Sample the FT’s top stories for a week You select the topic, we deliver the news. Select topic Enter email addressInvalid email Sign up By signing up you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions, cookie policy and privacy policy. The disclosure comes as China steps up its involvement with its western neighbour amid a gradual withdrawal by US forces from the war-ravaged country. (FT)

Afghanistan Struggles to Access China’s New Silk Road
A new railway between China and Afghanistan, part of Beijing’s Silk Road initiative to promote regional trade, has run into roadblocks in Uzbekistan, apparently over fears that it could also benefit terrorists. The first freight train on the Sino-Afghan Special Transportation Railway departed the Yangtze River port of Nantong on Aug. 25 and arrived in the Afghan river port of Hairatan two weeks later. Chinese state media said the cargo link would boost economic cooperation as the ancient caravan routes once did. (WSJ)


CENTRAL ASIA

Kyrgyzstan: Opposition Leader Arrested Over Claimed Corruption

Authorities in Kyrgyzstan are threatening to spark a political crisis with their shock arrest of a prominent opposition leader. Ata-Meken party leader Omurbek Tekebayev was held by police as soon as he flew into the capital, Bishkek, in the early hours of February 26. Dozens of his supporters demonstrated outside Manas airport and some were later detained. Large numbers of police with riot gear were deployed to the terminal to contain any possible outbtreaks of protest. As well as Tekebayev supporters, police at one stage also detained a reporter with RFE/RL's Kyrgyz service, Ulanbek Egizbaev, and a member of parliament with Ata-Meken, Kanybek Imanaliyev. (Eurasianet)

Kazakhstan Embarks on Constitutional Reform Amid Uncertain Times
Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev surprised his fellow citizens and international observers alike when he announced, on January 11, the establishment of a special commission to elaborate wide-ranging constitutional reform. It had been less than two months since Nazarbayev spoke to a group of Western journalists in Astana about his potential succession. At the time, the president joked that he would stay in power as long as his health permitted and for as long as he enjoyed the trust of the population, before inviting his foreign guests to come back for his next inauguration. (Jamestown Foundation)

Iran plans to buy Kazakh uranium ore, seek Russia help to make nuclear fuel
Iran plans to buy 950 tonnes of uranium ore from Kazakhstan over three years and expects to get Russian help in producing nuclear fuel, its top nuclear official said in remarks published on Saturday.
The acquisition would not violate Iran's landmark 2015 deal with world powers over its disputed nuclear program as the deal did not set limits on the Islamic Republic's supplies of uranium ore. The report by the Iranian Students' News Agency ISNA comes a day after the U.N. atomic watchdog said Iran's official stock of enriched uranium had fallen by half after large amounts stuck in pipes was recategorised as unrecoverable under a process agreed with the major powers. (Reuters)

Femministe anti-Trump nel mirino dei censori

L’account Weibo di Feminist Voice in China, gestito da alcune note attiviste cinesi, è stato disattivato dalle autorità di Pechino per 30 giorni a partire da lunedì scorso. Motivo: una non ben precisata “violazione delle leggi dello Stato“, stando ad una nota recapitata dal gruppo. Il tempismo con cui è arrivato il bavaglio, tuttavia, parrebbe suggerire molto di più. Come chiarisce al Guardianl’editor Xiong Jing, appena sei giorni fa “Feminist Voice” si era fatto promotore di uno “sciopero internazionale“, riproponendo sul proprio profilo Weibo – aperto nel 2010 e seguito da 80mila follower – la traduzione cinese di un articolo scritto da alcune femministe di stanza negli Stati Uniti. Nell’appello originale si faceva riferimento a una mobilitazione volta a combattere le violenze sulle donne e a sostenere i diritti riproduttivi in risposta alle “politiche razziste, misogine, transfobiche e omofobe” di Donald Trump. L’articolo è stato rimosso dalla piattaforma di microblogging Weibo alcuni giorni dopo la pubblicazione.

In mancanza di chiarimenti ufficiali, diversi elementi suggeriscono che l’operato dei censori non vada letto esclusivamente come una misura preventiva per evitare il verificarsi di proteste e altre iniziative pericolose per la stabilità

del Paese – sebbene l’appropinquarsi dell’annuale Assemblea Nazionale del Popolo (il parlamento cinese che si riunisce in marzo) giustifichi in parte un controllo più serrato del web. Non è la prima volta che l’ossessione di Pechino per l'”armonia sociale” colpisce il movimento femminista cinese: nel marzo 2015 cinque attiviste furono arrestate, e poi rilasciate su cauzione, per aver organizzato una campagna contro le molestie sessuali. Un caso che all’epoca scatenò le critiche della comunità internazionale e spinse Hillary Clinton a definire il presidente Xi Jinping “senza vergogna” per aver presenziato alla cerimonia tenuta dalle Nazioni Unite per commemorare i vent’anni dalla Conferenza mondiale sulle donne, tenutasi a Pechino nel 1995. Difficilmente il nuovo inquilino dello Studio Ovale – ben noto per le sue gaffe misogine – si dimostrerà altrettanto solidale nei confronti delle attiviste cinesi.

“Supponiamo che il blocco totale dell’account, il primo dal 2010, sia avvenuto per via di alcuni nostri tweet circa le proteste femminili contro Trump“, spiega Xiong in un’intervista rilasciata a Radio Free Asia, chiarendo che l’obiettivo dei post era quello di informare su quanto sta accadendo negli States, non di espandere le rimostranze in Cina. D’altronde, non è la prima volta che l’attivismo “rosa” d’oltre Muraglia prende di mira il nuovo presidente americano. A metà dicembre era stata Zheng Churan, una delle cinque ragazze finite agli arresti, a rivolgersi a “The Donald” autografando una lettera dal messaggio inequivocabile: “Hey Trump, le femministe cinesi ti tengono d’occhio”. La missiva, indirizzata alla Trump Tower e ripubblicata sull’app WeChat, chiariva che “anche se qui, in Cina, siamo lontane, abbiamo letto notizie riguardanti il tuo costante coinvolgimento nelle discriminazioni di genere […] le persone che guardano le donne dall’alto vero il basso un giorno dovranno rispondere dei loro commenti offensivi e sessisti”.

Affermazioni minacciose che a un mese dall’insediamento ufficiale di Trump alla Casa Bianca assumono nuove valenze politiche. Negli ultimi mesi gli equilibri diplomatici tra le due sponde del Pacifico sono stati messi a dura prova da una serie di dichiarazioni incendiarie da parte del nuovo presidente statunitense. Alle critiche sferzate in campagna elettorale contro le strategie monetarie e commerciali del gigante asiatico, a dicembre si è aggiunta una provocatoria messa in discussione del principio “una sola Cina“, che dagli anni ’70 funge da principio cardine delle relazioni sino-americane precludendo al vertice della Casa Bianca di intrattenere contatti diretti con Taiwan, nonostante Washington continui a sostenere militarmente l’isola.

Grazie all’opera pacificatrice dell’entourage di Trump, recentemente la tensione tra le due superpotenze pare essersi parzialmente sgonfiata. Complice l’insolita morigeratezza mantenuta dalle autorità cinesi, restie a rilasciare dichiarazioni troppo accese sulla condotta del nuovo presidente statunitense. Come rivelano dispacci interni diramati il mese scorso dal dipartimento della propaganda, i media nazionali sono stati invitati a rilassare i toni. “Qualsiasi notizia riguardo Trump deve essere maneggiata con cura; la critica non autorizzata di quanto detto o fatto da Trump non è permessa”, si legge nella nota tradotta dal sito China Digital Times.

(Pubblicato su Il Fatto quotidiano)

Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

EU sets collision course with China over ‘Silk Road’ rail project

Brussels is investigating a showcase Chinese rail project that aims to extend Beijing’s “One Belt One Road” initiative into the heart of Europe, potentially putting the European Commission at loggerheads with China. Sample the FT’s top stories for a week You select the topic, we deliver the news. Select topic Enter email addressInvalid email Sign up By signing up you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions, cookie policy and privacy policy. The commission’s probe is into a planned 350km high-speed railway between Serbia’s capital Belgrade and Budapest in Hungary. The railway is billed as a hallmark scheme under “One Belt One Road”, a $900bn project championed by Xi Jinping, China’s president, to build infrastructure and win diplomatic friends in Europe, Asia and Africa. (FT)

Shipping seafood along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

In January of this year, residents of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region were able to enjoy their first ever taste of seafood imported from Pakistan by container trucks through the Khunjerab Pass. The successful trial is expected to improve overland trade between China and Pakistan via the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, ,which currently accounts for 2 percent of the overall trade between the two countries. (Global Times)

China Accounts for 80% of Syria's Foreign Trade - Syrian Ambassador to China
China is Syria's largest trade partner, accounting for about 80 percent of the country's foreign trade, Imad Moustapha, the Syrian ambassador to China, told Sputnik. "China was our first trade partner before crisis in Syria. Now because of the almost non-existing trade relations between us and the West, China's role has become even larger and larger. (Sputnik)

Why China Can’t Ignore Syria’s Rebel Factions

Beijing might prefer to deal with Assad, but major oil resources are held by rebel groups. (The Diplomat)

China's grain heartland deepens cooperation with Silk Road countries

Duan Lin manages vast swathes of farmland in Central China's Henan province. Next week, the agricultural specialist will fly to Tajikistan to inspect 1,600 hectares of farmland he runs there. Duan comes from a family of agricultural businessmen. His grandfather, Duan Shouming, was among the first generation of farmers who came in 1956 to develop the so-called Huangfanqu, a barren and salty plain formed after massive flooding of the Yellow River in the 1930s and 1940s. (China Daily)

Berlin uneasy about Beijing’s growing clout in eastern, southern Europe

Germany is concerned about the growing influence of China in eastern and southern Europe, German ambassador to China Michael Clauss said in an exclusive interview.“In our view, setting up parallel networks such as China and eastern Europe or China and southern Europe are somewhat inconsistent with a commitment to a coherent and strong EU,” Clauss said this week. (Scmp)

Chengdu to run 1,000 cargo trains to Europe in 2017

Southwestern China's city of Chengdu is expected to run 1,000 cargo trains to Europe in 2017, more

than double the number last year, the Chengdu International Railway Services Company said Monday.Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, ran 460 cargo trains to cities in Poland, the Netherlands and Germany last year -- more than any other Chinese city. By June 2016, trains had made nearly 2,000 trips between 25 Chinese cities and Europe, with a total import and export value of 17 billion U.S. dollars. (Xinhua)

Experts from Uzbekistan on construction of China — Kyrgyzstan — Uzbekistan railroad arrive in Kyrgyzstan for first time 

Experts from Uzbekistan on construction of the China — Kyrgyzstan — Uzbekistan railroad arrived in Kyrgyzstan for the first time, said Minister of Transport and Roads of Kyrgyzstan Jamshitbek Kalilov today at a press conference in Bishkek (Akipress)


China holds 'anti-terrorism' mass rally in Xinjiang's Uighur heartland
The government of the restive far-western Xinjiang marched thousands of armed officers through the region's southern city of Hotan in a shock and awe campaign against what it says is the rising threat of terrorism and ethnic separatism. The large-scale parade in Hotan, a hotspot of ethnic tension in Xinjiang's southern Muslim Uighur heartland, involved thousands of armed police and paramilitary officers and was designed to "show strength and intimidate", according to a front-page report in the official Xinjiang Daily on Friday.(Reuters)

For Xinjiang’s Uyghurs, ‘Hashar’ by any other name still means forced labour

While Chinese officials in the Xinjiang region insist that they no longer compel Uyghurs to supply free labour for public works projects, in reality they have only changed the name of the practice, RFA’s Uyghur Service has learned. “The hashar is abolished, and the farmers are being informed about it in village after village,” a Chinese official in Hotan (in Chinese, Hetian) prefecture’s Guma county’s civil affairs office told RFA in a recent interview. Hashar is the Uyghur term for compulsory labour in fields and roads, and Uyghur and other human rights activists view the practice as a means to repress the Muslim Uyghurs. (RFA)


CENTRAL ASIA

Little-Known Turkmenistan About to Become Known for Its Big Problems
No post-Soviet republic is so little known beyond its borders as Turkmenistan. This relative obscurity internationally is the result of three legacies: its poverty in Soviet times; its relatively tiny cohort of intellectuals who might have called attention to the country; and perhaps most importantly, Turkmenistan’s lack of a unified national identity, a feature that has led many scholars to call it “ ‘a nation’ of tribes”. Nonetheless, there are five obvious causes for concern and perhaps even alarm when it comes to this reclusive Central Asian republic. (Jamestown Foundation)

Central Asians See NATO More as Threat than Protection
Central Asians are more likely to see NATO as a threat rather than as a source of protection, according to a new survey. The survey, by the American firm Gallup, polled residents of all the ex-Soviet republics except for Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. All of the Central Asian states saw NATO as more of a threat than as protection. Tajikistan was the most anti-NATO state, with 34 percent seeing it as a threat and eight percent as protection. Next is Kyrgyzstan, at 19 percent protection and 30 percent threat; then Kazakhstan, 25 percent protection and 31 percent threat. (Erasianet)

Cacciatrici di infedeli

Quando Wang ha scoperto che suo marito la tradiva da anni, non ha avuto un attimo d'esitazione. Si è subito messa alla ricerca delle "cacciatrici di amanti", professioniste addestrate per tentare di interrompere la relazione extraconiugale e rispedire il fedifrago tra le braccia della moglie. Un'opzione meno emotivamente dolorosa e socialmente disdicevole del divorzio. Sono bastati due mesi e una cifra pari a circa 450mila yuan (circa 62mila euro) per riavere indietro il marito. Tanta è stata la soddisfazione che Wang ha persino pensato di diventare a sua volta una "cacciatrice".

Sebbene non siano disponibili i numeri esatti, le agenzie specializzate nel salvataggio di matrimoni sono ormai parecchie. Sul motore di ricerca Baidu - il Google cinese- diversi blog e messaggi pubblicitari sponsorizzano questo genere di servizi, quasi tutti concentrati nelle metropoli del Sud come Shanghai, Shenzhen e Guangzhou. Addirittura, alcune agenzie hanno espanso il proprio business oltre Muraglia fornendo i propri servigi presso la diaspora cinese in giro per il mondo, in attesa di riuscire a conquistare una clientela internazionale.

Weiqing ("proteggere i sentimenti"), Pojing Chongyuan ("Reunion") e Chongqing Jialijiawai ("dentro e fuori casa") sono tra le società di consulenza più conosciute. Weiqing ha aperto i battenti nel 2001 a Shanghai e oggi vanta 300 agenti e succursali in 59 città; lo scorso anno ha totalizzato circa 10mila clienti, contro gli 8000 del 2014. "Il mio obiettivo è prevenire i divorzi", spiega ad AFP Shu Xin, fondatore della società, "ogni anno salviamo grossomodo 5000 coppie". Come?

"Proteggere i sentimenti" si avvale soprattutto di donne laureate in psicologia, sociologia o legge, le quali vengono sottoposte a tre anni di addestramento prima di venire sguinzagliate sul campo. La strategia seguita è sempre la stessa: la "consulente" comincia a pedinare la xiaosan (l'amante) in modo da impararne le abitudini. Un incontro "fortuito" per strada o la richiesta d’aiuto per un problema in casa: ogni occasione è buona per tentare di entrare in contatto con la donna. Le indagini vengono condotte con precisione per valutare se essa sia animata da venalità o da reale passione. Il passo successivo consiste nel conquistarne la fiducia in modo da riuscire a indurla a lasciare l'amato. In alcuni casi gli sforzi delle agenzie vengono dirottati sull'infedele (affinché venga persuaso della venalità della xiaosan) o sulla moglie, per renderne più seducente l'atteggiamento o l'outfit.

Il costoso servizio - tollerato dalla legge cinese - arriva in risposta all'impennata dei fallimenti matrimoniali. Tra il 2007 e il 2014, in Cina, i casi di divorzio sono aumentati da 1,5 a 2,6 su mille, una media ben più alta di quella europea. Soltanto a Pechino, il 2015 ha visto scoppiare 73mila coppie, un numero tre volte superiore a nove anni fa. E proprio l'infedeltà è alla base di molte rotture. Non soltanto le relazioni licenziose vanno a braccetto con il malaffare che regna tra le fila del Partito - secondo uno studio della Renmin University, tangenti e amanti arricchiscono di particolari gustosi ben il 95% dei casi di corruzioni degli ultimi anni. Gli amori clandestini si annidano anche nella vita di tanta gente comune. Stando a Baihe.com, in quasi la metà dei matrimoni almeno uno dei coniugi ha tradito, mentre il 21% dei mariti e il 20% delle mogli al primo matrimonio risulta avere un'amante.

Un trend a cui le “cacciatrici” si propongo di mettere un freno. Alcune lo fanno con metodi meno raffinati. E’ questo il caso di Zhang Yufen che nel 2003 ha fondato la Fire Phoenix Agency e oggi riceve ogni giorno oltre 100 richieste d’aiuto da parte di donne tradite. Oltre alla canonica raccolta di prove incriminanti, la squadra di Zhang non disdegna nemmeno tecniche di persuasione meno ortodosse come le aggressioni fisiche in luoghi pubblici. Un modus operandi che le è valso il soprannome di “killer delle amanti”.

(Pubblicato su D di Repubblica)

Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

The Silk Road Economic Belt: Considering security implications and EU–China cooperation prospects
This one-year desk and field study has examined the Belt from a security perspective. The report has three components: (a) it has analysed what the Belt essentially is, what has driven China to initiate it, and how it relates to China’s own security interests; (b) it assesses what the Belt’s security implications are and might be in two selected regions of the Eurasian continent (in this report ‘Eurasia’ refers to the combined landmass of Europe and Asia), namely Central and South Asia; and (c) based on the sum of these findings, this study elaborates on whether the Belt is a platform for European Union (EU)–China cooperation on mitigating security threats throughout Eurasia, and provides policy recommendations to the EU on how to proceed. In the context of the report, ‘security’ is defined broadly in relation to intra- and interstate stability: it encompasses human security and developmental conditions. (Sipri)

Absorb and conquer: An EU approach to Russian and Chinese integration in Eurasia

Europe shouldn’t be afraid of Russian and Chinese efforts to integrate the Eurasian landmass, but should embrace these initiatives and absorb them into its international order, making use of its huge market, soft power, and long experience of regional integration. “The prospect of China and Russia failing to integrate the vast Eurasian continent should not make Europe feel better about the region or about itself. European cooperation with both the Russian and Chinese projects is necessary for progress in Eurasia, and, if properly structured, can promote European interests.” (Ecfr)

Absurd? China And Kazakhstan's Remote Cross-Border FTZ May Finally Be Set To Boom
The first time I visited the International Center for Boundary Cooperation “Khorgos” (ICBC) was in May of 2015. At that time, I found a bi-national free trade zone straddling the China / Kazakhstan border that was basically a Chinese “cheap stuff” market flung out on the Eurasian steppes that was mired in a stagnant position between conception and vitalization.Nearly two years after this first visit, I returned to the ICBC, and I must report that even after a string of political, financial, and corruption mishaps, nobody has given up on the place.
(Forbes)

China-Europe land-sea fast transport route now open, first two trains carrying Chinese cargo arrived in Budapest Tue 

The first two trains carrying Chinese cargo containers, launched by China COSCOShipping Group, arrived in the Hungarian capital, the Economic and CommercialCounselor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in Hungary said Tuesday. The shipments arrived in Budapest on Jan. 29 and Feb. 5, respectively, from the port ofPiraeus, Greece, marking the official opening of the China-Europe land-sea fastintermodal transport route. This took place after the acquisition of the Piraeus port by COSCO Group. (People's Daily)

Pakistan receives funding of $20M from China for rapid transit project that will use Chinese standards & technology
China's largest commercial bank announced on Tuesday it provided short-term financing of 1.36 billion Indian rupees ($20 million) for a rapid transit line project in Pakistan last month.
The 26-kilometer Orange Line project currently under construction in Lahore, the second largest city and a major industrial hub of Pakistan, is being built according to Chinese standards and will use metro vehicles and electromechanical systems made in China. It is the first large rail transit project launched under the bilateral economic corridor between China and Pakistan as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, (Peopl'es Daily)

One Belt, One Road and Many Countries

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the newly independent countries of the Central Asian region for the first time in their modern history looked beyond the iron curtain with which they were isolated from the world within the Soviet era. They quickly remembered that in ancient times they were an important part of what today can be called a global system of communication and trade – the Great Silk Road, which connected China to Europe through the Eurasian continent. Central Asian countries desperately needed to break their newly land-locked status. Forming a trade path from East to West was part of their unique selling point. However, such a position is not merely their geographical destiny. It is also a geopolitical condition due to the fact that unlocking the region depends largely on neighboring great powers – namely China and Russia. But interestingly, the opening and unlocking of Central Asia appears to be a more complicated and protracted process than expected, in which the ‘Modern Silk Road’ needs to balance multiple national interests. (China in Central Asia)

Here Are 5 Ways China's New Silk Road Is Good For Western Companies
Which begs the question: Is it realistic for U.S. and other Western firms to expect good business opportunities within the OBOR? This question becomes even more compelling as the public dialogue between the U.S. and China grows increasingly hostile and confrontational. (Forbes)

Why Eurasia will suffer if Donald Trump makes an enemy of China

Raffaello Pantucci says the US president’s hostile stance not only puts at risk overall ties with Beijing, but could also deprive Eurasia of the cooperation it needs to advance, and a counterweight to China’s potentially overbearing sway. (Scmp) 

Putin to attend China summits on ‘One Belt’ and BRICS

Participation of Russian president in the two highest-profile events Beijing is hosting this year could herald closer ties between the neighbours (Scmp)

Economy of NW China's Xinjiang grows 7.6% in 2016, 0.9 percentage points above the national growth rate

The economy of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region grew 7.6 percent year on year in 2016, 0.9 percentage points above the national growth rate, the local statistics bureau announced Monday.The region's GDP reached 961.7 billion yuan (139.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2016 with continued expansion of the tertiary sector, which made up 57 percent of the region's gross domestic product in the first three quarters.(Xinhua)

Beijing’s new scorched-earth policy against the Uighurs

Under the pretext of joining the global war on terrorism, the Xi Jinping administration has imposed unprecedentedly harsh restrictions on the civil liberties and rights of the 10 million Uighurs living in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR). The shift in President Xi’s Xinjiang policy was marked by the replacement of the region’s Party Secretary Zhang Chunxian (张春贤)—a moderate cadre noted for his “soft and flexible methods in running Xinjiang”— with Chen Quanguo (陈全国) (Dwnews.com [Beijing], Aug. 29, 2016; Ming Pao [Hong Kong], Aug. 28, 2016). The persistence of violence in the XUAR, however, has called into doubt whether Beijing’s draconian tactics will work towards the goal of changzhi jiu’an (长治久安; “perennial order and stability”). (TheNewsLens)

Uighur minority fighting in Syria says exiled leader

An exiled advocate for China's ethnic Uighur minority said Monday that some of the group were fighting and dying in Syria -- including for Islamic State (IS) -- though she claimed they had been duped into doing so. Rebiya Kadeer, who heads the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), said that among the thousands of Uighurs who have fled to Southeast Asia, Turkey and elsewhere in recent years, a small number have ended up in the war-torn Middle Eastern country and have joined militant groups. (Middle East Online)

CENTRAL ASIA

Turkmen President Extends Rule In Tightly Controlled Vote
Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, the authoritarian president of gas-rich Turkmenistan, has secured a third term in office by winning 97.69 percent of the vote in the February 12 election, according to the Central Election Commission. The election commission announced the result on February 13, a day after an election whose outcome seemed certain in advance because of Berdymukhammedov's domination of the Central Asian country and the tightly controlled campaign. (Rferl)

Trump chiude le porte al Medio Oriente. l'Asean le apre

Mentre Donald Trump chiude le porte ai paesi arabi, l’Asean le spalanca. Le 10 nazioni del Sudest asiatico che compongono l’organizzazione regionale si dicono pronte a capitalizzare le recenti restrizioni sugli ingressi negli Stati Uniti volute dal neopresidente americano. Il blocco prevede – oltre alla sospensione dell’accoglienza ai rifugiati per 120 giorni e ai siriani “sine die” – 90 giorni di stop agli arrivi di cittadini di Iran, Iraq, Libia, Somalia, Sudan, Siria e Yemen. Una misura che ci si attende dirotterà parte del turismo arabo verso i paesi asiatici, più accoglienti e accomunati dalla fede in Allah.

L’Islam è la religione più praticata nel Sudest asiatico, con 240 milioni di seguaci – pari al 40 per cento della popolazione – concentrati soprattutto in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia e alcune regioni di Thailandia e Filippine. “Mentre il mondo si avvia verso un maggior isolazionismo, per l’Asean è il momento di facilitare l’arrivo di turisti”, ha dichiarato martedì via Twitter Tony Fernandes, fondatore e amministratore delegato di AirAsia, compagnia aerea a basso costo con base a Kuala Lumpur. Proprio la Malaysia nel 2016 si è attestata tra le destinazioni favorite dal Medio Oriente, con 200mila visitatori provenienti da paesi quali Emirati Arabi Uniti, Arabia Saudita, Iraq e Qatar. Oltre ai viaggi tradizionali, ad attrarre nuovi arrivi ci pensano il turismo medico e l’industria halal, termine che sta a indicare tutto quanto ritenuto “lecito” secondo l’Islam, dall’abbigliamento al cibo.

Secondo CrescentRating, principale authority del turismo Muslim-friendly, entro il 2020 l’industria halal arriverà a coinvolgere 150 milioni di viaggiatori, per un giro d’affari di 200 miliardi di dollari, pari all’11 per cento del valore del turismo globale. Un’opportunità a cui non hanno saputo dire no nemmeno le Filippine – unico paese asiatico a maggioranza cattolica insieme a Timor East – impegnate dal 2015 in un massiccio progetto (il Philippines Halal Tourism Project) volto a istituire almeno 50 stabilimenti certificati in tempo per il Madrid Fusion Manila, evento gastronomico internazionale previsto per il mese di aprile.

“Il Medio Oriente rappresenta un grande mercato”, conferma ai microfoni della Reuters l’Ente Nazionale per il Turismo Thailandese, sottolineando le lucrose opportunità fornite dal turismo medico che secondo l’organizzazione americana Patients Beyond Borders cresce ogni anno del 25 per cento e coinvolge 11 milioni di persone, di cui quasi un terzo diretto verso il Sudest asiatico. Le necessità variano da una ricerca di terapie a costi più contenuti a quella di cure non reperibili nel paese di provenienza, come la medicina halal, che non prevede l’impiego di derivati del maiale. Mentre la maggior parte dei pazienti giunge da altri Stati membri del blocco Asean, il Medio Oriente rappresenta già la seconda principale area di provenienza, con gli Emirati Arabi a fare da traino per quanto riguarda l’affluenza presso le strutture sanitarie più lussuose della Thailandia. E per i primi tre mesi del 2017 ci si attende una crescita su base annua dell’8 per cento.

Se per la U.S. Travel Association nessuno dei paesi colpiti dalle politiche securitarie di Trump risulta nella top 20 dei principali mercati turistici americani, i disagi degli ultimi giorni, tuttavia, non interessano soltanto lo scacchiere mediorientale. Molti viaggiatori dell’Asia-Pacifico sono già alla ricerca di mete meno problematiche. Specie da quando si è diffusa la notizia del coinvolgimento di un cittadino cinese e uno malese, rimasti bloccati martedì presso l’aeroporto internazionale JFK di New York, nonostante la Malaysia e la Cina non compaiano nella lista nera dei paesi “portatori di terrorismo”.

“Quando si viaggia, specialmente per piacere, si vuole stare tranquilli”, spiega alla Reuters Alicia Seah dell’agenzia singaporiana Dynasty Travel, e “molte persone dirette verso gli Stati Uniti tra marzo e aprile stanno sospendendo la partenza”. Alcune opteranno per destinazioni alternative come Australia, Nuova Zelanda e Canada. Lo stesso vale per i soggiorni studio. Nel periodo 2014-2015, gli studenti asiatici negli States hanno raggiunto quota 736mila, pari al 76 per cento del totale degli studenti stranieri. Ma negli ultimi tempi il numero delle application ricevute dalla società australiana Navitas per corsi di lingua negli Stati Uniti è diminuito drasticamente. “La vittoria di Trump mi ha spinta a riconsiderare l’idea di studiare negli Stati Uniti”, racconta Aulia Adila, ventiquattrenne di Jakarta, “andare in America è sempre più impossibile e poco sicuro”.

(Pubblicato su Il Fatto quotidiano)

Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

Hyperloop on the Silk Road

The northeastern Chinese city of Hunchun is like many of the country’s smaller boomtowns, continually fed by an influx of rural jobseekers looking for factory work. China is building a new six billion dollar passenger high-speed rail line to connect Hunchun with the provincial capital of Jilin to the east. That said, Hunchun is a bit off the beaten path, tucked into a nook between the borders with Russia and North Korea. Geography has enabled Hunchun to become the largest logistics terminal in the region, preparing textiles, electronics, grain, and automobiles for export. Hunchun could become an even more influential export hub if it had better access to the Pacific. Currently, it is cut off from the coast by rugged mountains and Russia’s Primorsky Krai region to the west and south. In winter months, roads are often impassable. China would like to see Hunchun connect to the sea and Russian economic planners have long had their eyes on developing better, faster links between China’s interior and Russia’s deep water, ice-free ports along the coast south of Vladivostok. (Reconasia)

Can China solve Central Asia’s impending water crisis?
China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative has become a major foreign policy priority. The land-based Silk Road Economic Belt aims to expand China’s economic connections and political influence across much of Eurasia through vast infrastructure and investment schemes, potentially involving over 40 countries. But reviving the ancient Silk Road will not be easy. Water conflicts, as elsewhere, are top on the list of potential challenges. (East Asia Forum)

2/3 of Nepal's total FDI in 1st half of current fiscal year (beginning mid-July '16) is from China
Nepal received more than two thirds of the total foreign direct investment (FDI) pledgesfrom China during the first half of the current fiscal year that began in mid-July, accordingto data from Nepal's Department of Industries (DoI). Pradeep Kumar Koirala, director general of DoI told Xinhua that Chinese investors arelargely seen interested in tourism, infrastructure and restaurant businesses in Nepal.(Xinhua)

In Turkey, US Loss Is China's Gain
With relations with the United States in tatters, the ‘Eurasianers’ in Turkey look to accelerate ties with China. (The Diplomat)

China plans to destroy ancient Buddhist city to get copper bonanza
Two Chinese state-owned mining companies plan to destroy an ancient Buddhist city in Afghanistan in order to get the copper underneath it, according to a new documentary. According to the film Saving Mes Aynak, Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) and Jiangxi Copper are in the initial stages of building an open-pit copper mine 40km southeast of Kabul. The location is home to a walled Buddhist city that dates back 5,000 years.According to the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, the site is also home to the world’s second-largest copper deposit. China is an importer of copper and a major global refiner of the industrial metal. (SCMP)

Amid Beijing's "Silk Road" splurge, Chinese firms eye Pakistan
Chinese companies are in talks to snap up more businesses and land in Pakistan after sealing two major deals in recent months, a sign of deepening ties after Beijing vowed to plough $57 billion into a new trade route across the South Asian nation. A dozen executives from some of Pakistan's biggest firms told Reuters that Chinese companies were looking mainly at the cement, steel, energy and textile sectors, the backbone of Pakistan's $270 billion economy. (Reuters)

China plans to destroy ancient Buddhist city to get copper bonanza
Two Chinese state-owned mining companies plan to destroy an ancient Buddhist city in Afghanistan in order to get the copper underneath it, according to a new documentary. According to the film Saving Mes Aynak, Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) and Jiangxi Copper are in the initial stages of building an open-pit copper mine 40km southeast of Kabul. The location is home to a walled Buddhist city that dates back 5,000 years. According to the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, the site is also home to the world’s second-largest copper deposit. China is an importer of copper and a major global refiner of the industrial metal. SCMP

CENTRAL ASIA

Cash-strapped Mongolia is now selling jewellery and horses to pay debt
Post 
Mongolia is out of cash, but it has big bills to pay. Bills worth US$580 million, in fact. So citizens are scrounging up cash, and donating money, jewellery, and even horses to the government to help it cling on long enough for an international bailout. The country has a US$580 million bond payment due in March. So the government is negotiating a bailout with China and the International Monetary Fund amid a historic economic crisis, but it may not come in time.(Reuters)

Global Journalist: Turkmenistan's Silent Election
Most people outside of Central Asia know little about the gas-rich desert nation of Turkmenistan.
The former Soviet Republic has virtually no independent media and just a handful of bookstores. Foreign journalists and scholars are rarely granted visas to visit.So it's no surprise that presidential elections this month in a state sometimes compared to North Korea are little more than a show staged to buttress President Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov. On this edition of Global Journalist, a look at one of the world's most isolated countries and the cult of personality built around its leader. (Global Journalist)

Would The Real Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov Please Stand Up?

Turkmenistan is conducting a presidential election on February 12. Eight competitors are running against the incumbent, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. But if he looks like Berdymukhammedov, the person who's been hitting the campaign trail in the last week or so doesn’t much act like Berdymukhammedov. First, let's take a brief look at the eight candidates in the race. (That’s a record for a Turkmen presidential election.) It's probably one of the only times you’ll ever hear about these folks. (RFE)

La sparizione di Xiao Jianhua, pista politica o finanziaria?

Xiao Jianhua è stato rapito dalla polizia cinese. Anzi, era all'estero per delle cure e presto riapparirà a Hong Kong, dove risiede in maniera permanente da alcuni anni. Notizie discordanti sul miliardario fondatore di Tomorrow Group si rincorrono da quando nel weekend siti gestiti dalla diaspora cinese negli Usa ne avevano segnalato il fermo da parte delle autorità cinesi. Diverse fonti del South China Morning Post - compresa la polizia di Hong Kong- ne avevano rilevato la partenza per Shenzhen venerdì della scorsa settimana. A distanza di giorni, le modalità dell'allontanamento continuano a rimanere poco chiare. Mentre secondo il Financial Times, l'uomo è stato visto andare via dall'hotel Four Seasons - dove risiedeva - in compagnia di agenti cinesi il 27 gennaio, per il Scmp, quel giorno Xiao sarebbe effettivamente entrato nella Cina continentale, ma passando per le regolari procedure di frontiera. Stando a questa versione, il tycoon - al momento ancora nella mainland - starebbe collaborando ad alcune indagini relative a casi di corruzione e manipolazione dei mercati azionari.

La stessa famiglia di Xiao avrebbe prima richiesto l'aiuto degli agenti e poi ritirato la segnalazione, avendo ricevuto rassicurazioni sulle sue condizioni fisiche. Due comunicati di Tomorrow Group, pubblicati su WeChat lunedì e martedì (e poi cancellati), smentiscono la versione della cattura da parte delle autorità della mainland e confermano il regolare andamento delle attività di business. Xiao che, secondo il portale Boxun, sarebbe riparato a Hong Kong nel 2014 per sfuggire a un'inchiesta lanciata da Xi Jinping, ha passaporto canadese e gode della "protezione diplomatica", assicuratagli dallo status di ambasciatore di Antigua e Barbuda di cui gode dal 2015.

La storia di Xiao ricorda l'odissea dei cinque librai di Hong Kong, prelevati dai servizi cinesi lo scorso anno, in un caso che ha messo ulteriormente in luce l'ingerenza di Pechino negli affari della regione amministrativa speciale, formalmente autonoma sul piano legale ed economico. Se l'espatrio di Xiao non è stato volontario, come suggeriscono le fonti hongkonghesi, ci troveremmo davanti all'ennesima prova di impotenza delle autorità locali davanti all'assertività della mainland.

Mentre rimane da chiarire la natura delle fantomatiche "indagini" in cui risulta coinvolto, la vita dell'imprenditore fornisce preziosi indizi. Di umile origini, il 45enne appartiene a quella generazione di imprenditori nati dal ventre delle proteste di piazza Tian'anmen. Quelli che invece che sostenere le manifestazioni studentesche ne hanno avvallato la repressione da parte del governo guidato da Deng Xiaoping. Una fedeltà grazie alla quale è riuscito a stringere "relazioni intime" ai vertici del Partito comunista. Le stesse che hanno permesso ad altri colossi privati (quali Ping An e Aliababa) di fare successo mantenendo formalmente una propria estraneità al mondo controverso delle aziende statali. Finora gli è andata bene: secondo Hurun, il Forbes cinese, le fortune di Xiao ammontano a 40 miliardi di yuan (5,8 miliardi di dollari). Ma secondo alcune fonti ben informate in realtà Xiao controllerebbe una dozzina di società finanziarie e altre compagnie quotate in borsa attraverso vari entità intermediarie.

Definito da qualcuno "un faccendiere", il "JPMorgan di Cina" ha fatto carriera gestendo gli affari occulti della leadership cinese. Secondo il New York Times, tra i suoi clienti ci sarebbero nientemeno che la sorella del presidente Xi Jinping (impegnata nel 2012 a ripulire il proprio business in previsione della nomina del fratello) e alcuni parenti di Jia Qinglin, ex numero quattro del Partito. Da quando Xi ha assunto il potere, molte personalità a lui vicine sono finite nelle maglie dell'anticorruzione. Impietoso, nel 2013 l'ufficialissimo People's Daily lo definiva "un distruttore di ricchezza". Ecco che secondo molti, quei preziosi contatti potrebbero non aver gradito le indiscrezioni trapelate sulla sua clientela. E con l'approssimarsi di un massiccio ricambio di leadership al prossimo Congresso del Partito (in agenda per l'autunno a venire) le lotte di potere hanno ripreso a far vittime, Victor Shih, professore di economia presso l'Università della California.

Il movente politico non ti convince? Volendo dare per buona la versione del South China Morning Post, la sparizione di Xiao sarebbe piuttosto da collegare agli ultimi scossoni riportati dal settore finanziario. Non è difficile credere che l'opacità dei suoi affari abbia finito per impensierire le autorità impegnate a regolamentare il mercato interno, dopo il tracollo delle borse di Shanghai del luglio 2015. Lo scorso dicembre, Liu Shiyu, presidente della China Securities Regulatory Commission (la Consob cinese), ha definito "barbari", "banditi" e "mostri malvagi" tutti quegli investitori che, impegnati in operazioni di buyout, fanno utilizzo di una forte leva finanziaria. Soltanto lo scorso mese Xu Xiang, ritenuto il migliore gestore di fondi di tutta la Cina, è stato condannato a 4 anni e mezzo di carcere per insider trading.




(Pubblicato su Gli Italiani)