Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

China Focus: China, Russia expand common ground for regional development
As China is adding investment to revive the "rust belt" in its northeastern provinces, Russia is also looking to boost the economy in its Far East, which brings tremendous opportunities for the two geographically adjacent regions, experts and government officials said at a high-level forum at the 4th China-Russia Expo which closed Monday. Andrey Ostrovsky, deputy director of Institute of Far Eastern Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said the Russian Far East covers 36 percent of the country's territory, but has less than 5 percent of its population. It is rich in natural resources but poor in infrastructure, similar to China's northeastern region. According to the minister, about 20 joint commercial projects are being implemented in the Russian Far East, involving agriculture, petrochemical engineering, raw materials, logistics and tourism, and another four are under discussion. The total investment of those projects are estimated at about 6 billion U.S. dollars.(Xinhua)

China Railway Group signed on to build a $2.5 billion high-speed rail in Russia 

The state-owned company signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia for a line running from Chelyabinsk to Yekaterinburg, the nation’s third-largest city, according to the China Daily. The time to complete the trip, which covers 200 km (125 miles), would be cut from 5 hours to 70 minutes.

32 projects to be implemented in scope of China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor
Iskander Azzizov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Mongolia said that Russia and Mongolia reached an agreement to upgrade the Ulaanbaatar Railway Joint Venture Company. Haiming Xing, Ambassador of People`s Republic of China to Mongolia emphasized "There are six economic corridors between Mongolia and China. China is ready to invest in order to develop those corridors. Og Song, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Mongolia stated that "Korea and Mongolia are discussing to establish Economic Partnership Agreement and I hope that it will enable Korean investors to turn their attentions to Mongolia. However, we must remember that stable policy is very significant. MongoliaGoGo

China’s Answer to the World Bank Pledges to Do More by Itself

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank pledged to embark on more projects as the sole lender, as it boosts its membership and manages an investment pipeline of up to $7 billion.The fledgling development bank, now in its second year, has already taken on projects by itself and it will do more going forward, AIIB President Jin Liqun said on Saturday in Jeju, South Korea, following the institution’s second annual conference. Still, working together with other lenders is better particularly on large infrastructure deals, he said. Of the 16 projects approved by the AIIB since it started in January 2016, around three quarters have been co-financed with other development lenders including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Chinese to enjoy 'red' road trips in Russia

About 1,000 Chinese people will enjoy "red" road trips to Russia from June to September, the China National Tourism Administration announced at a news conference on 20 June. The trips will kick off simultaneously in Hunan and Shaanxi provinces on June 28, with participants first driving to Beijing for an opening ceremony on July 1. From there, participants will drive to Manzhouli, a city in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region that borders Russia. They will enter Russia on July 5 to attend a welcoming ceremony in Moscow. (ChinaDaily)

China reconnecting Afghanistan? 
Anyone attempting to “rebuild” Afghanistan will have their work cut out but the success of China’s Silk Road initiative needs progress here, writes Pepe Escobar. Since 2002, Washington has spent a mind-boggling US$780 billion on its still incomplete Operation Enduring Freedom but Chinese government researchers have now quietly started a discussion in Kabul billed as “Afghanistan Reconnected”.

The ‘Perfect Police State’ is Emerging in Xinjiang

Xinjiang is experiencing an unprecedented security surge following the appointment of Chen Quanguo as the Party Secretary of the Uyghur autonomous region. The recruitment of security staff in Xinjiang had gone “absolutely through the roof” under Chen’s rule. In the first five months of this year, 31,000 such jobs were advertised – more than the entire total between 2008 and 2012. Last year a record 32,000 security agents were hired. (CDT)

The AIIB adds members and distances itself from Beijing
The AIIB opened for business in January 2016, and its ranks are still growing as Argentina, Tonga and Madagascar became the latest to join. The institution's roster, already bigger than the Asian Development Bank's 67 members, is expected to reach 85 to 90 this year. When it comes to lending, the AIIB has shown a preference for playing it safe while the bank cements its position in international finance. Three financing-related items totaling $324 million in lending and investment were approved at the meeting on June 16: a capital contribution to an Indian infrastructure fund and two syndicated loans arranged with other multilateral lenders. (Nikkei)

China is trying to pull Middle East countries into its version of NATO

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a Central Asian security bloc led by China and Russia that is often described as a future Eastern counterweight to NATO. It held its annual summit last week in Kazakhstan, and the most significant outcome was the announcement that India and Pakistan became its first new members since being formed in 2001. The evolution of the SCO looks set to continue, with Iranian membership gaining momentum and Turkey’s an increasing possibility. (Washington Post)

Unreal estate: The boom in Gwadar’s property market
The unintended consequences of various politically charged investment initiatives are fascinating to track. Today, this article came out from Dawn about a property boom near the port of Gwadar, driven by the influx of money and interest. A great read reminding us of the knock-on effects of infrastructure projects. (Dawn)

Pakistan tightens business visa procedures for Chinese nationals after alleged Islamic State killings

Chinese nationals seeking to renew Pakistan business visas would need referral letters and long-term business visa extensions under the revised rules
(Scmp)

Mongolians fret over China investment as they prepare to vote

A few miles from Mongolia's giant Tavan Tolgoi mine, about 2,000 trucks a day set off across the Gobi desert, delivering coal to China on a road so narrow and ridden with pot holes it has become an accident black spot. Nearby stand the foundations of a railway meant to connect Tavan Tolgoi to China to the south. The unfinished line would enable cash-strapped, landlocked Mongolia to sell more coal at higher prices to its biggest customer, which could also finance the project.But despite the obvious economic benefits, the project has become a casualty of the ambivalence Mongolians feel about China's growing influence. Those feelings loom large over a Mongolian presidential election on Monday.A century ago, Chinese warlords used railways to help colonize Inner Mongolia, and some Mongolian nationalists argue a cross-border link could help facilitate a Chinese invasion. (Reuters)

China's Secret Landgrab (No, Not in the South China Sea)

“Bite by kilometer-size bite, China is eating away at India’s Himalayan borderlands,” Brahma Chellaney, one of India’s foremost strategic thinkers, warned in a recent op-ed. “For decades, Asia’s two giants have fought a bulletless war for territory along their high-altitude border. Recently, though, China has become more assertive, underscoring the need for a new Indian containment strategy.”A former Indian intelligence officers estimate that China has stolen nearly two thousand square miles from India over the past few years. As Chellaney notes, China’s strategy to acquire this land bears many similarities to its tactics in the South China Sea. First, it has civilians of different stripes—“herders, farmers, and grazers”—settle the land. Once the civilians are in place, the People’s Liberation Army comes in to provide protection.(National Interest)

China urges Afghans, Pakistan to form crisis-management mechanism
China has urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to improve relations and establish a crisis prevention and management mechanism, the Chinese foreign ministry said.Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul on Saturday and said a three-way conference mechanism involving the two countries and China could promote dialogue and cooperation, the ministry said in a statement on its website. (Reuters)

Pakistan deploys force of 15,000 to protect Chinese nationals

Pakistan has deployed a 15,000-strong military force to protect Chinese nationals working on energy and infrastructure projects in the country, the president said on Sunday, after the abduction of a Chinese couple raised safety concerns. (Scmp)

CENTRAL ASIA

Russia In Talks With Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Over Military Deployment to Syria

Russia is in talks with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan about sending troops to Syria, senior Russian and Turkish official have said. "Negotiations are now going on, a process is being worked out so that Russian military police can contribute to providing security in Syria, and proposals to our colleagues in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are being worked out as well," said Vladimir Shamanov, the head of the Russian Duma's committee on defense, in an interview with RIA Novosti. (Eurasianet)

Mongolians pick president after scandal-plagued campaign

Mongolians cast ballots on Monday (June 26) to choose between a horse breeder, a judoka and a feng shui master in a presidential election rife with corruption scandals and nationalist rhetoric.From its sprawling steppes to its capital and even in yurts serving as polling stations, people began to vote in the landlocked country sandwiched between Russia and China that was once viewed as an oasis of democracy full of economic promise.Nomadic herders filed into a yurt in the city of Erdene Sum, 100 km (60 miles) east of the capital Ulan Bator to cast their ballots, wearing the traditional deel coat, fedoras and boots. (Reuters)

Majlis Podcast: Tajikistan's Civil War And What Came After

The topic of this week’s Majlis podcast is the Tajik civil war: How it started, what fueled it, how it ended after five years in an unusual peace deal signed in Moscow on June 27, 1997, and how that deal fell apart over the course of the last 20 years. Muhammad Tahir, RFE/RL's media relations manager, moderated the discussion. (Rferl)

Kazakh foreign minister denies talks on sending troops to Syria
Kazakhstan has not been involved in any negotiations on the deployment of its servicemen in Syria, Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said on Friday."Providing a platform for meetings of all parties concerned is our country’s practical contribution to settling the Syrian crisis. Kazakhstan is not engaged in talks with anyone on sending its servicemen to Syria," he said. (Tass)

Celebrità della rete a rischio bavaglio

Deng Qian si è sottoposta a oltre una dozzina di interventi di chirurgia estetica per snellire le braccia, ingrandire il seno e cambiare quasi ogni parte del viso. «Tutto al di sopra della vita è falso», racconta al Wall Street Journal la ragazza. Come tante ventenni cinesi, anche Deng anela occhi grandi, un naso sottile, sopracciglia arcuate e un mento appuntito. Quel che ti permette di diventare una wang hong (celebrità della rete), termine composto dai due caratteri di «rete» e «rosso», colore sinonimo di popolare, «hot». Prima di finire ospite di show televisivi e programmi sulla chirurgia plastica, Deng era semplicemente una dei sei milioni di live streamer — soprattutto donne — che quotidianamente schiaffano la propria vita privata davanti allo schermo del pc. Che si tratti di un frivolo monologo in abiti succinti, una performance canora o la sponsorizzazione di un prodotto di bellezza. È un fenomeno che ha attecchito nel paese più popoloso del mondo meno di tre anni fa, ma ha già rapidamente assunto dimensioni cinesi.

Lo scorso anno, oltre la Muraglia 344 milioni di netizen hanno fruito delle piattaforme di live streaming (come Ingkee e Douyu), circa la metà dell’intera popolazione internet cinese (731 milioni). Ad aprile erano 150 i siti specializzati in questo genere di intrattenimento, per un valore di 4,3 miliardi di dollari di ricavi. Numeri destinati a triplicare entro il 2020, secondo China Renaissance. La genesi del nuovo passatempo è legata a doppio filo allo scarso appeal dei palinsesti televisivi: stanchi delle soap opera e dei programmi patriottici propinati dalla tv statale, i giovani cinesi sono sempre più protesi verso l’entertainment online, fruibile soprattutto via mobile. Dai videogiochi allo shopping virtuale sui vari siti di e-commerce; il live streaming non fa eccezione. Questo è vero soprattutto nelle città di fascia bassa, dove le opzioni di svago sono più limitate e anche intrufolarsi nella vita di un comune live streamer può risultare un diversivo attraente.


Specialmente se al semplice divertimento è possibile coniugare prospettive di facili e pingui guadagni. C’è chi «mettendoci la faccia» spera persino di riuscire a pagarsi gli studi all’estero, grazie ai «regali virtuali» che il pubblico elargisce ai propri intrattenitori preferiti. Una pratica piuttosto diffusa in Cina che ricalca quella delle «hongbao», le buste rosse (piene di cash) distribuite durante il Capodanno lunare — addirittura la Apple ha recentemente introdotto una tassa del 30% sulle «mance» elargite dagli user alle wang hong via app per tentare di bilanciare il crollo degli introiti sul mercato locale. Ma c’è anche chi fa le cose più in grade: 90mila dollari è quanto prefigura di guadagnare Deng quest’anno pubblicizzando interventi di chirurgia estetica. Fiutandone le lucrose prospettive, i grandi colossi dell’hi-tech cinese Tencent, Alibaba e Baidu hanno tutti deciso di puntare una fiche sul settore con l’intento di dare nuovo slancio al proprio core business, ripartito tra servizi di e-commerce, social networking e giochi online. Un esempio di sinergia vincente: l’introduzione da parte di Taobao (l’Ebay cinese) di una piattaforma di live streaming che permette ai venditori di promuovere in tempo reale i propri prodotti. Qualcosa di simile la stanno facendo anche Adidas, Oreo e Durex.

E poi c’è tutto l’indotto generato dalla fioritura di attività sussidiarie. È questo il caso di Three Minute TV, agenzia che non solo fornisce oltre 1000 «conduttori» professionisti a circa una trentina di piattaforme di live streaming, ma si dà anche carico di organizzare interventi di chirurgia plastica per le «anchorwoman», concede piccoli prestiti bancari per l’intervento e infine assiste le ragazze nel trovare uno sbocco nello showbiz.

Insomma, dietro al Periscope «in salsa di soia» si è creata tutta un’industria che ben si sposa con le richieste (dall’alto) di incrementare i consumi interni e sviluppare l’economia digitale. Il problema è che nella maggior parte dei casi a piazzarsi davanti alla webcam sono giovani ragazze ammiccanti in abiti discinti. Niente di più offensivo per il Partito comunista intento a ripulire il cyberspazio di contenuti disdicevoli. È per questo che, ultimamente, le autorità hanno chiuso oltre 4000 show room online e punito 18mila «conduttori». Una dozzina di piattaforme sono state aggiunte alla lista nera delle entità sanzionate per la propagazione di contenuti pornografici o discutibili, incluse Douyu e Panda TV, sito di sport live fondato niente meno che dal figlio debosciato del secondo uomo più ricco di Cina, Wang Jianlin.

Come spiegava tempo fa al Wall Street Journal Cao Xi, venture capitalist di Sequoia Capital China — uno degli investitori di Douyu — il mercato delle performance in rete deve buona parte del suo successo alla sottile linea di demarcazione tra l’innocuo entertainment e il «soft porn». Chiaramente «gli americani non hanno bisogno di Periscope per vedere giovani donne carine. Ma in un paese dove la pornografia non è permessa, invece c’è un buon mercato».

Dallo scorso anno nuove regole vietano comportamenti osceni davanti ai monitor, come mangiare una banana in maniera sexy o indossare autoreggenti e abiti discinti. Gli stessi Douyu e Ingkee hanno nel proprio organico centinaia di impiegati incaricati di scandagliare i contenuti per evitare la scure censorea. Un compito sempre meno facile da quando il presidente Xi Jinping ha assunto la guida del paese cinque anni fa. Appena alcuni giorni fa la Cyberspace Administration ha imposto a Weibo, NetEase, TenCent e Baidu la chiusura di decine di account gossippari con l’obiettivo conclamato di «promuovere i valori socialisti» sul web anziché «abbellire gli scandali sessuali privati delle celebrità e le loro spese stravaganti». Ma è il cane che si morde la coda. Infatti, è proprio il «proibizionismo» in rete ad aver abbassato il livello del dibattito online. Con politica interna e notizie sensibili a rischio bavaglio, molti internauti hanno progressivamente dirottato la propria attenzione verso tematiche più frivole. Come commenta ai microfoni del Financial Times Wen Tao, ex editor del quotidiano nazionalista Global Times «un tempo l’entertainment veniva considerato un’area speciale, sottoposta a scarsa vigilanza dal governo». A quanto pare non più.

(Pubblicato su il manifesto)

Cina, gli investimenti high tech allarmano la Silicon Valley

Gli investimenti cinesi nell’intelligenza artificiale (AI) e l’apprendimento automatico (machine learning) stanno attirando talenti nella Silicon Valley, rafforzando le preoccupazioni di Washington per la fuga di cervelli e lo spionaggio aziendale. Secondo fonti della Reuters, il governo americano vuole rafforzare le competenze del Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), un comitato inter-agenzia del governo federale degli Stati Uniti d’America incaricato di analizzare le implicazioni per la sicurezza nazionale degli investimenti stranieri negli Stati Uniti. Quelli cinesi, d’altronde, sono sempre di più: nel 2016 sono stati la prima destinazione degli investimenti diretti esteri cinesi per un totale di 45,6 miliardi di dollari, mentre 22 miliardi è quanto iniettato soltanto tra gennaio e maggio, ovvero un 100% in più su base annua. Molti sono finiti nello sviluppo di tecnologie sensibili, mettendo sul chi va là le autorità americane.

Stando a un rapporto del Pentagono, visionato dall’agenzia di stampa britannica, sinora Pechino è stata in grado di dribblare i controlli del CFIUS lanciandosi in transazioni che non richiedono ancora alcuna revisione da parte dell’agenzia: joint venture, acquisizione di quote di minoranza e investimenti di avvio nelle start up. Senza mezzi termini, un funzionario dell’amministrazione Trump ha dichiarato ai microfoni della Reuters che “stiamo esaminando il CFIUS per valutare la salute e la sicurezza a lungo termine dell’economia statunitense, date le pratiche predatorie della Cina”.

Mentre il CFIUS si avvale della collaborazione trasversale tra il Dipartimento del Tesoro e i vari “ministeri” della Difesa, del Commercio, della Giustizia e della Sicurezza interna, il segretario alla Difesa Jim Mattis non ha mancato recentemente di richiamare l’attenzione del Senato sulle sue limitazioni, definendolo un comitato “obsoleto”. Sotto il governo Obama, il CFIUS è riuscito a bloccare con successo l’acquisto cinese di alcuni produttori americani ed europei di chip high-end, come nel controverso caso della tedesca Aixtron. Ma il futuro è quanto mai incerto.

Alla Casa Bianca aleggia il timore che le tecnologie all’avanguardia sviluppate negli Stati Uniti finiscano per essere utilizzate dal gigante asiatico per rafforzare le proprie capacità militari, permettendole addirittura un sorpasso cinese in termini di hard e soft power. E’ per questo che il senatore repubblicano John Cornyn si sta occupando della stesura di una nuova legislazione mirata a rafforzare il potere decisionale della CFIUS sugli investimenti tecnologici provenienti da paesi ritenuti una “minaccia” per la sicurezza nazionale. Non vi sarà invece alcuna lista precisa delle operazioni da sottoporre a scrutinio. Piuttosto verrà fornito un meccanismo attraverso cui il Pentagono guiderà i lavori di identificazione delle attività da bloccare, con l’ausilio dei Dipartimenti del Commercio e dell’Energia. “L’intelligenza artificiale è una delle tante tecnologie all’avanguardia che la Cina sta cercando e che ha potenziali applicazioni militari“, ha dichiarato, mantenendo l’anonimato, un assistente di Cornyn. Stando alle stime di CG Insight, dal 2012 a oggi sarebbero almeno 29 gli investitori cinesi coinvolti in progetti di AI sull’altra sponda del Pacifico.

Ad accrescere le preoccupazioni di Washington è la rapidità dell’avanzata cinese. Mentre Trump sta tagliando i fondi alla ricerca, la Cina è nel pieno della sua fioritura tecnologica (promossa da Pechino a volano della nuova crescita “medio-alta”) e del suo shopping oltreoceano, spesso puntellato dallo Stato. All’inizio dell’anno la National Development and Reform Commission ha siglato una joint venture con il colosso locale Baidu (il Google “in salsa di soia”) per aprire un laboratorio dedicato all’intelligenza artificiale, definito eloquentemente dal New York Times “public-private”.

Non è un mistero che Pechino faccia grande affidamento sul trasferimento di tecnologia per compiere la propria rivoluzione industriale. Oltre alle acquisizioni, sono centinaia di migliaia gli studenti che dalla Cina vanno a studiare nei rinomati atenei statunitensi, salvo poi rimpatriare dopo la laurea con il sogno nel cassetto di avviare un’attività in proprio. Non a caso tra le proposte citate nel rapporto del Pentagono compare anche la richiesta di una revisione delle politiche sull’immigrazione in modo da consentire ai neolaureati cinesi di rimane negli States anche una volta ottenuto il diploma.

In tipico stile pechinese, il portavoce del ministero degli Esteri ha riposto alle accuse auspicando un trattamento imparziale dei capitali in arrivo da oltre Muraglia. La politica è la politica, il business è il business, ha dichiarato Lu Kang.

La stretta sull’attivismo cinese giunge in concomitanza con i recenti sforzi messi in campo da Washington per utilizzare l’intelligenza artificiale e l’apprendimento automatico nella lotta contro l’Isis. Maven è il nome del progetto con cui il Pentagono sta cercando di sviluppare l’applicazione di intelligenza artificiale e apprendimento automatico nella gestione dei droni da combattimento. È un programma per cui nel 2018 saranno stanziati 30 milioni di dollari e consiste nel sostituire il controllo umano dei droni, attraverso dei monitor, con degli algoritmi in grado di segnalare possibili obiettivi da colpire.

Per parte sua, Pechino detiene già il primato nella produzione di velivoli commerciali, di consumo – la Da-Jiang Innovation di Shenzhen conta addirittura per il 70 per cento del mercato mondiale – e si sta rapidamente facendo strada nella fabbricazione di droni “killer”, come dimostra il recente accordo per la costruzione di un impianto in Arabia Saudita, il primo in Medio Oriente. Insomma, a Washington cominciano a sentire il fiato sul collo.

(Scritto per Il Fatto quotidiano online)

Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

China deploys new tank in Tibet, near India border
China deployed its latest military tank, the Xinqingtan, in an area of Tibet near the Indian border.
Chinese news site Guancha reported Monday Beijing is increasing military buildup in Tibet in a show of force designed to deter the Indian military.An integrated brigade of the People's Liberation Army in Tibet deployed an unidentified number of the new tanks, according Chinese state-owned television network CCTV. (Upi)

Can China Help GUAM Diversify Away from Russia?

As GUAM became inactive and U.S. support cooled, China began to show its ambition in broader Eurasia. In September 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping initiated the “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) across Eurasia. GUAM not only falls within the Silk Road Economic Belt, but it also draws China’s attention with its Trans-Caspian potential. (Eurasia.net)

Kazakhstan residents with family in China protest document confiscation drive

Residents of Kazakhstan say they are being prevented from seeing their families after Chinese authorities in the troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang began confiscating the passports of ethnic minority Kazakhs whose family members live across the border, sources told RFA. Meanwhile, members of the Turkic-speaking, mostly Muslim Uyghur ethnic group currently living across the border are being ordered to return to China, according to their relatives living in Kazakhstan. RFA

In Pakistan, China presses built-in advantage for 'Silk Road' contracts

Last year, Pakistan held informal talks with General Electric, Siemens and Switzerland's ABB to build the country's first high-voltage transmission line. Chinese power giant State Grid committed to building the $1.7 billion project in half the time of its European counterparts – and clinched the deal.(Reuters)

‘ISLAMIC STATE’ KILLINGS: CHINA’S CENSORED SOCIAL MEDIA IS IN UPROAR, SO WHAT’S BEIJING THINKING?

As Beijing scrambles to befriend neighbouring countries and ease anxieties over its rising military power, social media users are demanding their government send troops to Pakistan to seek payback for the killing of two Chinese nationals.Calls for action were stoked after Islamic State (IS), a terrorist group active in Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for executing a young man and woman last week in Pakistan. Chinese officials have yet to directly confirm the deaths, but a spokesman from the Chinese foreign affairs ministry said on Wednesday that Beijing was investigating whether the pair – described in some reports as Chinese language teachers – were illegally preaching in Pakistan before they were abducted. In an earlier press conference, the ministry said it had been told by Pakistan that the pair had “probably died”. (Scmp)

OBOR is sustainable

The costs of China’s One Belt, One Road project are sustainable and won’t reach into the trillions of dollars, says David Dollar, a former World Bank official and US Treasury emissary to Beijing. Doug Tsuruoka writes that Dollar also thinks India must participate if China’s plan is to succeed but downplays the possibility of Chinese participation in President Donald Trump’s plan to rebuild US infrastructure.

AIIB approves 150-mln-USD equity investment in India

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on Thursday approved its first-ever equity investment, worth 150 million U.S. dollars, to catalyze private capital for infrastructure projects in India.The investment will go to the India Infrastructure Fund, which aims to invest in mid-cap infrastructure companies in India, according to an AIIB press release. (People's Daily)

How much danger can China tolerate in war-torn Afghanistan?

Major security concerns continue to hamper plans for large-scale Chinese investment and reconstruction in the ravaged central Asian country. “If the way and connectivity through Afghanistan is not open, it would be like an important vein being blocked on the Belt and Road, which leads to many diseases to this organ,” said Sun Yuxi, the first Chinese ambassador to Kabul after the Taliban regime was toppled in 2001. China had launched a freight train service directly to a station on the Afghanistan border last year, a 13-day journey via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. But the trade flow is considered too thin to merit a regular service.(Scmp)

Interpreters witness booming border trade between China and Kazakhstan

Marina has to cross border every day for work, but the one hour drive from her home in Yarkent, Kazakhstan to China's border town Khorgos is nothing compared to the monthly payment of 2,700 yuan (about 400 U.S. dollars), an income above the average in her hometown.As the day breaks, Marina gets out of bed, takes breakfast and hops on a cab to start a day of busy work at the China-Kazakhstan Khorgos Frontier International Cooperation Center. She began to work as an interpreter at a Chinese trade firm there a month ago. (Xinhua)

Ethnic Kazakh Imam Dies in Custody of Chinese Police in Xinjiang

An ethnic minority Kazakh imam has died in police custody in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang, with authorities attributing the cause of death to "suicide," sources in the region told RFA.
The Kazakh imam, known by a single name, Akmet, was detained last week by authorities in Xinjiang's Sanji (in Chinese, Changji) Hui Autonomous Prefecture, a source close to the case said on Thursday. (Rfa)

China Builds Its Global Role, One Infrastructure Loan at a Time

Among the 16 projects approved by the AIIB, 12 were co-financed with other development lenders including the World Bank, ADB, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The arrangements implied that the bank is less likely to compromise humanitarian and environmental standards as initially feared, at least not in those projects. (Bloomberg)

Dutch city of Tilburg sees "golden opportunity" in direct Chengdu rail link
A new direct rail link from Chengdu to Tilburg, the sixth largest city and the second largest logistic hotspot in the Netherlands, is being seen as a "golden opportunity."Chengdu is 10,947 km away in China's southwest Sichuan Province. The latest alternative logistic service is growing in popularity and promises broadened industrial cooperation between the two cities.The service, launched in June last year, now has three trains westbound and three trains eastbound per week. "We plan to have five trains westbound and five trains eastbound by the end of this year," Roland Verbraak, general manager of the GVT Group of Logistics told Xinhua. Cargo coming from China is mostly electronics for multinational groups such as Sony, Samsung, Dell and Apple as well as products for European aerospace industry. Some 70 percent of them go to the Netherlands and the rest are delivered by barge or by train to other destinations in Europe, according to GVT. (Xinhua)

How The New Silk Road Is Saving Lives

According to a recent report by the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS), a Washington DC think tank, entitled Safety on the New Silk Road, Kazakhstan loses upwards of $9 billion — or nearly 4% of its GDP — each year due to road accidents. Only 3% of the country’s roadways meet internationally recognized highest standards, while 17% fall below the minimum. Of the 13,000 kilometers of highway that the CSIS investigated, over three-quarters were undivided two-lane roads, more than half were not paved in asphalt, and 45% were considered to be in bad condition — all of which increases the risk of accidents. Backing up the findings of the CSIS, of the 52 countries that the World Health Organization analyzed in their study on global road safety, Kazakhstan ranked dead last. Meanwhile, the number of cars on Kazakh roadways have more than doubled in the past ten years. (Forbes)

HOW THE QATAR CRISIS COULD TURN INTO A DISASTER FOR BEIJING

The recent row between Qatar and its Arab neighbours puts a big question mark over the feasibility of Beijing’s plans to promote connectivity and build a China-centred trade network among Eurasian countries.The diplomatic rift will interrupt Beijing’s efforts to manage its multitrillion-dollar projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, as the crisis in the Gulf region might mark the beginning of a new round of chaos, and perhaps military conflicts, in the wider Middle East. (Scmp)

Footprints: A Korean ‘front’ for Chinese evangelists?

Some interesting Dawn reporting around the two Chinese killed in Balochistan and their activities in Quetta (Dawn)

CENTRAL ASIA

Uzbekistan Starts Shopping For Kazakh Weaponry

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have steadily begun to build military ties, suggesting that Tashkent's thaw in relations with its Central Asian neighbors may even extend to such a sensitive area as military cooperation with its regional rival. (Eurasianet)

Kyrgyzstan's Presidential Election Looks To Be A Cliffhanger

The nomination of candidates in Kyrgyzstan's presidential election officially started on June 15, and the vote already promises to be one of the most interesting and exciting elections yet seen in Central Asia.Current Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev is prohibited by the constitution from seeking another term and, unlike leaders in some of the neighboring Central Asian states, Atambaev is really going to honor that stipulation. (Rferl)

Energy in Central Asia: Who Has What?
Each summer, BP releases a statistical review of world energy. The review — in its 66th year — is well regarded and draws on a variety of sources, giving one of the most comprehensive views of energy reserves and consumption around the world.Buried amid the tables are Central Asia’s three energy-rich states: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. As energy plays a central role in the economies of these states, it’s worth taking stock of where the last few tumultuous years have left them. (Diplomat)

Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

India, Pakistan Extend Reach of SCO to Half the World

After years of speculation about their accession, India and Pakistan have finally been admitted as full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, broadening the geopolitical potential of the grouping, and partially watering down the dominance of Russia and China. The move could also help ease tension between the two South Asian rivals, some experts and officials suggest. Now, as fellow SCO members, India and Pakistan will be expected to participate in joint military exercises under the auspices of the organization’s Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which is based in Tashkent. (Eurasianet)

Majlis Podcast: How Significant Is The Shanghai Cooperation Organization?

The topic of this week's Majlis was the latest summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on June 9.For the first time since 2001, new members were admitted to the SCO, with India and Pakistan joining China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.Several SCO officials, including host President Nursultan Nazarbaev, called it a "historic" day.Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "The expansion will undoubtedly help the SCO become a more powerful organization." He added that the addition of new members would also increase the SCO's "political, economic, and humanitarian influence."
(Rferl)

China says Iran membership of Shanghai security bloc to be discussed at summit
China supports Iran's membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) security bloc, jointly led by China and Russia, and the subject will be discussed at the group's summit this week, a senior diplomat said on Monday.The SCO refused to initiate Iran's accession last year despite a request from Russia which backs Tehran's bid, indicating possible divisions between Beijing and Moscow.Iran has long knocked at SCO's door and Russia has argued that with Western sanctions against Tehran lifted, it could finally become a member of the bloc which also includes four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics.Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister Li Huilai said Iran is an observer at the SCO and has for a long time "proactively participated" in its activities and has made positive contributions to the SCO's development. (Reuters)

Spotlight: Xi's Kazakhstan trip carries on "Silk Road Spirit," charts new chapter for cooperation

Xi proposed that the SCO draw up a five-year outline for implementation of the Treaty on Long-term Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation and formulate a three-year program of cooperation to fight the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism. (Xinhua)

The SCO Illusion Takes India
As India joins the SCO, it must keep in mind certain geopolitical realities (Diplomat)


Silk Road hub or tax haven? China's new border trade zone may be less than it seems

On the border of China and Kazakhstan, an international free trade zone has become a showpiece of Chinese President Xi Jinping's signature "Belt and Road" Initiative to boost global trade and commerce by improving infrastructure and connectivity. Chinese state media are filled with stories about the stunning success of Horgos, the youngest city of China's new Silk Road. Last month at China's Belt and Road Summit - its biggest diplomatic event of the year - promotional videos about Horgos' booming economy ran on a loop at the press centre But Chinese business owners and prospective investors who had recently visited the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center (ICBC), told Reuters they were disappointed by the disconnect between the hype and reality. (Reuters)

Russian warships visit Hong Kong for the first time to boost presence in region

The main objectives of the visit are to develop naval cooperation with the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, says Russian commander (Scmp)ù


Russia-China talks over new gas routes stalled – sources

Talks over new routes for gas supplies to China from Russia have stalled while Beijing rethinks the balance of its energy needs, including how much liquefied natural gas (LNG) it might use, two Russian sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Gazprom, which is already building a gas pipeline from Eastern Siberia to China - the Power of Siberia - was in talks over two more routes: the so-called western gas route and a gas pipeline from the Pacific Island of Sakhalin. (Reuters)

Russia and China Plan 'Enormous' Military Events and Cooperation After Successful South China Sea Drill

Russia and China are planning “enormous” and “important” joint military events in their future, after a meeting in which the countries agreed a military “roadmap” until 2020. The superpowers completed a mass naval drill in the disputed South China Sea in September.“It is important that Russia and China are ready to defend the world with mutual efforts and strengthen international security,” Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told the Interfax news agency at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Kazakhstan. (Newsweek)

Why Qatar’s links to Islamist groups worry Beijing
With China facing its own fight against extremism, Doha’s backing of a host of radical organisations is a source of unspoken concern for China’s leadership (Scmp)

U.S. says China likely to build more overseas bases, maybe in Pakistan
A Pentagon report released on 6 June singled out Pakistan as a possible location for a future Chinese military base, as it forecast that Beijing would likely build more bases overseas after establishing a facility in the African nation of Djibouti. The prediction came in a 97-page annual report to Congress that saw advances throughout the Chinese military in 2016, funded by robust defence spending that the Pentagon estimated exceeded $180 billion. Reuters SCMP (Image: Reuters)

Highlights of Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Kazakhstan

(People's Daily)

China, Kazakhstan eye stronger cross-border, security cooperation

China and Kazakhstan vowed Thursday to enhance cross-border connectivity and boost cooperation in security and international affairs as Chinese President Xi Jinping is paying a state visit to the Central Asian country.Consolidating the bilateral relationship is a diplomatic priority for both countries and that the alignment of the development strategies, namely the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Kazakhstan's "Nurly Zhol," or "Bright Path" in the Kazakh language, has far-reaching significance, said a joint statement released after Xi and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev held talks.The two countries agreed to develop more international cargo train services, starting from China via Kazakhstan to Central Asia, Europe and Gulf countries and to effectively lower the logistics cost, making railway freight a major solution for cargo transportation between Asia and Europe by 2025, it said. (Xinhua)

China, Kazakhstan sign cooperation deals worth over $8 billion
Chinese and Kazakh enterprises and financial institutions have signed at least 24 deals worth more than $8 billion during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Kazakhstan, Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said on Friday. Both sides agreed to push for the progress in cooperation in energy, mining, chemical industry, mechanical manufacturing, agriculture and infrastructure, said Zhong, Xinhua reported. (Economic Times)

China's CITIC Bank approves deal for stake in Kazakh lender
China's CITIC Bank Corp Ltd (601998.SS) said late on Wednesday its board had approved a deal to buy a 60 percent stake in Kazakhstan's Altyn Bank, a subsidiary of Halyk Bank HSBK.KZ(HSBKq.L), the country's No.2 lender by assets. Halyk Bank said in November it had reached an agreement to sell a controlling stake in its subsidiary to CITIC Bank, without giving any financial details. (Reuters)

Chinese city with Russian past struggles to preserve its legacy
Harbin was a Russian outpost and a base for the Chinese Eastern Railway. But the city’s distinct styles are threatened by urban redevelopment. (NYT)
China Rail Freight Sees Booming 2017 After Five Years of Contractions
(Caixin)

Inner Mongolia has become China’s model of assimilation

The Chinese government has long struggled to bring the country’s borderlands under control. It took a decade for the Communist Party to subdue Yunnan in the southwest and Tibet after it came to power in 1949. In Tibet and in the far western province of Xinjiang ethnic tensions still sometimes flare into violence; both have separatist movements that have been brutally suppressed. Ethnic relations have not always been easy in Inner Mongolia either: Mongolians frequently clashed with the authorities until the early 1990s.In recent decades, however, the province has been largely quiescent. It does not have a separatist movement—a surprise given that Mongolia, an independent, democratic country populated by 3m people of the same ethnicity, lies just to the north. Local gripes are more often expressed in economic terms than in ethnic ones. (Economist)

CENTRAL ASIA

Uzbekistan: Deputy PM Sidelined in Power Grab

Uzbekistan’s deputy prime minister and a one-time presidential contender has reportedly stepped down in a development that suggests the president is bolstering his power.Gazeta.uz reported on June 6 that Rustam Azimov will leave the government, where he oversaw macroeconomic developments and reforms, to take over Uzbekinvest, a state company that ostensibly deals in insuring foreign investments in Uzbekistan.The extent of the demotion is a transparent gesture intended to humiliate Azimov and was, by and large, to be expected.

The Praise Problem: Uzbekistan Bans Soppy Paeans To Presidents
Dedicating flattering songs, books, and movies to sitting presidents is generally the rule in post-Soviet Central Asia, where regimes have gone to great lengths to establish cults of presidential personality.Uzbekistan wants us to believe it has become an exception. Authorities there have announced a ban on such paeans and warned that singing the praises of a sitting head of state could cost singers and songwriters their licenses to perform.The announcement followed a June 2 meeting of Uzbekkonsert, a state body that oversees the Uzbek entertainment industry. (RFERL)

How an Overlooked Provincial Capital Became a Silk Road Hub

Over the centuries, Zhengzhou has never been reached by the Silk Road, the network of trade routes formally established during the Han Dynasty of China (206 BCE–220 CE) that linked the regions of the ancient world in commerce. But that’s about to change, now that a new Silk Road is taking shape under the leadership of Xi Jinping with the aim to connect Asia with Europe along a land corridor interlinked by rail, roads, industrial parks, and smart cities. Situated at the transitional zone between the North China Plain to the east and the Song Mountains and Xionger Mountains to the west, Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan Province, just 40 minutes away from Luoyang by train. But unlike the more attractive Luoyang, Zhengzhou is mostly overlooked by tourists and, so far, well-known primarily for a 1990s-era blood scandal and its dirty air. Today, it is time to — literally — clean up Zhengzhou’s image, as Beijing wants to make it a major center of the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB), the land-based component that together with the oceanic Maritime Silk Road forms One Belt, One Road.

Since 2014, state media has been sparing no effort to depict Zhengzhou as a primary transportation hub for central China, a feature that the city inherited from the past, thanks to its geographical location. Back in 1903, the Beijing-Hankou Railway arrived at Zhengzhou, and in 1909 the first stage of the Longhai Railway gave the city an east-west link to Kaifeng and Luoyang. Later the railway was extended westward to Xi’an, as well as to western Shaanxi, and eastward to the coast at Lianyungang (Jiangsu province), making Zhengzhou a major rail junction and a regional center for cotton, grain, peanuts, and other agricultural produce. To date, Lianyungang port remains the major marine port and cross-border transportation passage in the areas along the Lianyungang-Lanzhou railway and the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway and the Central Asian countries at large, and in the future it will give full play to the regional advantages as the intersection of One Belt and One Road and the eastern terminal of new the Eurasian Land Bridge, the rail transport route for moving freight and passengers overland between Pacific seaports in the Russian Far East and China and seaports in Europe. By extension, Zhengzhou will obviously benefit, too.

As the geopolitical intelligence platform Stratfor points out:

"China’s Central Plains region is an ideal location for an inland economic zone. Spanning several provinces along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the North China Plain, it is flat, easily traversable, fertile and well connected to most of China’s major coastal economic hubs. The region boasts an enormous and relatively young population, which means it has both a large labor force and sizable potential consumer base".

As early as July 2012, Greater Zhengzhou was named as one of the 13 emerging megacities or megalopolises in China in a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Last year the city ranked as the 19th most competitive urban center in the Asian country, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Now the capital of Henan is preparing itself to become a key link in connecting China to Central Asia and Europe.

Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, a total of at least 3,557 freight trains have run so far with services reaching 27 Chinese cities and 28 cities in 11 countries in Europe. Last year, 1,702 freight trains made the voyage to Europe, more than double the 2015 figure. As noted by Wade Shepard, author of Ghost Cities of China, Zhengzhou was among the earliest players to get involved. It started a regular rail route in July 2013 which crosses the 10,000 km to Hamburg, Germany in just two weeks. Thanks to the surging volume, in 2016 the frequency has improved to three westbound trains a week.

According to estimates by the state-owned Zhengzhou Hub Development and Construction Company (ZIH), the Zhengzhou-Europe route amounts for 30 percent of the total volume of the entire China-Europe rail network, with cargo consisting of high-value-added products such as electronics, automobile parts, and industrial robotics.

In the first quarter of the year, the local branch of the Europe-China Railway Express handled 5,102 containers and 32,800 tons of goods with a value of $314 million, increases on an annual basis, respectively, of 60 percent, 86 percent, and 80 percent, Zhengzhou Customs reported. While ZIH forecasts that the number of freight trains travelling between Zhengzhou and Hamburg would double by the end of 2017, the city has already started running two more westbound routes: one heading to Brest and Minsk in Belarus, before travelling to Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia, and the other directed to Alashankou at the border from where it is bound for Almaty, Kazakhstan’s commercial capital.

Besides rail transports, Zhengzhou is also served by the Western Europe-Western China highway, which will stretch 8,445 km from the Yellow Sea coast of China to the Baltic Sea at St. Petersburg when fully completed before the end of the year.

But the city’s ambitions along the New Silk Road do not stop here. In October 2010 the municipal government approved the construction of the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone (ZAEZ) around Zhengzhou International Airport (CGO) — one of China’s fastest growing, about an hour’s flight from Beijing and Shanghai. Three years later, the central government nearly doubled the ZAEZ’s size and began creating an international air logistics hub at CGO. Today, the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone is a complete urban economic area five times the size of Manhattan, encompassing eight industrial parks, with businesses ranging from regional and international logistics to electronics and e-commerce. Learning from the successful free trade areas in Shanghai and Shenzhen, it ended up ranking second in value of trade among China’s 48 free trade zones — growth led mainly by Foxconn, the contract manufacturer for Apple, which in Zhengzhou operates the world’s biggest iPhone factory.

Although Zhengzhou still lags behind other central and western cities, such as Chongqing — now accounting for about 80 percent of rail shipping between China and Europe on a value basis — there is no doubt that the city is ready to take the lead of northern China. In fact, while for a long time Henan has been considered a rural backwater by the rest of the country, Zhengzhou has definitely become a key city of China’s “Go West” policy, which is focused on building up underdeveloped western and central regions and encouraging foreign investments. As Shu Qing, vice governor of Henan, recently told China Daily, Zhengzhou “undertakes the mission to build a modern multimodal traffic and logistics network linking up the north and south and connecting the east and west, as well as a modern comprehensive transportation hub serving the Belt and Road Initiative.” No matter whether the market wants it or not, China’s economic center of gravity is definitely moving West.

(Pubblicato su The Diplomat)

Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

60 Xinjiang officials reprimanded for anti-terror negligence

The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region's top disciplinary inspector criticized over 60 local officials for negligence on anti-terror work after conducting a clandestine one-week inspection in the region. The regional discipline inspection commission announced on its website on 28 May it praised 5 units and 4 officials for excellent anti-terror work while criticizing 60 officials and relevant personnel for 375 problems and negligence issues during the inspection from 10 May to 16 May. (GlobalTimes)

China created a new terrorist threat by repressing secessionist fervor in its western frontier

Until recently, Turkey’s suspicions that Uyghurs would terrorize Istanbul would make no sense. For years, China has treated Uyghurs like terrorists even though they could have cared less about jihad. But in the past few years, China has wielded its growing regional power to bring its neighbors in line with Beijing’s anti-Uyghur policies. Even Turkey appears to now be under the sway of Asia’s economic powerhouse. Facing repression at home, and with nowhere left to go, some of those Uyghurs have been forced into dangerous new alliances with organizations like ISIS. After decades of crying wolf, China may very well have created the conditions that allowed terrorism to take root in its own soil.(Quartz)

1200 cargo trains from China to Europe, Asia cross Alashankou border port in 2016, total number hits 3000 since 2011. The inland port of Alashankou in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region saw a record number of cargo trains in 2016. The number of outbound China-Europe and China-Asia cargo trains crossing the border port hit 1,200 in 2016, bringing the total cargo trains to 3,000 by May since the first one via Alashankou was launched in 2011. In the first four months of 2017, the number of inbound international cargo trains via Alashankou reached 162, carrying more than 43,000 tonnes of goods worth 3 billion yuan (440 million U.S. dollars), according to Alashankou Customs. (Xinhua)

Beijing-Xinjiang expressway to open to traffic

The Beijing-Xinjiang expressway (G7), which links Beijing and Urumqi of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, is expected to open to traffic by June 30.The new expressway has a length of 2,582 kilometers and crosses Inner Mongolia autonomous region. After put into use, the expressway will shorten the existing route by 1,300 km.It will become the fastest and most convenient access to the sea for the northwestern inland region, connecting Xinjiang Khorgas Port and Tianjin Port in the east. It is designed to be an important component of the New Asian-European Land Bridge. (China Daily)

China's M&A activities grow fast in B&R region: report

The energy, power and raw material sectors are major industries attracting China's M&A investment, while Kazakhstan, Russia, Israel, Singapore and Egypt are the top five destinations in terms of transaction volume.China's M&A transaction volume in the Silk Road Economic Belt outweighs that in the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, while the latter has more M&A cases, the report showed.

Age of Empires: What Qin and Han Dynasty Treasures Tell About Artistic Influences Along Silk Road

The recent abundance of Han Dynasty exhibitions springs in part from spectacular late 20th and early 21st century archaeological discoveries of Han tombs, many unearthed during the construction of expressways. These tombs have provided an unparalleled window into the lives and belief systems of the Han elite – and even brought to light the world’s oldest egg, tea, and wine. But these discoveries have also proven to be the right tombs for the times; modern day political realities are an important contributor to the current Han vogue, among them the desire to connect the Belt and Road Initiative to the Silk Road and the current era to the Han Dynasty. (Caixin)

Kazakhstan to produce nuclear fuel for China

The first stage of the joint venture will produce about 200 tonnes of nuclear fuel a year using technologies and equipment supplied by France’s ArevaKazakhstan, the world’s biggest uranium producer, will start producing nuclear fuel for Chinese power plants in 2019 through a joint venture set up by the two countries, a senior official at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant told Reuters.The joint venture, Ulba-FA, is now building on land at the Ulba plant, Kazakhstan’s main uranium processing
factory. (Reuters)

Fosun buys stake in Russia's top gold miner for $887 mln
A consortium of investors led by China's Fosun International Ltd will buy a 10 percent stake in Russia's top gold producer Polyus for $887 million, they said on Wednesday.

Bank sets US$36.6 billion aside to support Obor projects
The China Development Bank will set aside 250 billion yuan (US$36.6 billion) over three years to attract private capital in public-private-partnership deals to support one belt, one road (Obor) projects, Xinhua reported on June 1. (Xinhua)

China’s New Silk Road Targets Central Europe

The people of Varnsdorf, a small Czech town of some 15,000 residents two hours’ drive north of Prague, were puzzled when their mayor proposed to attend a conference nearly 5,500 miles away in the Chinese province of Guangdong. The conference, scheduled for later this month, aims to provide attendees with “up-to-date information on Chinese and foreign markets,” according to its website.
(WSJ)

Central Asia Ready to Follow China’s Lead despite Russian Ties

The Chinese government-owned media was careful to stress the high level of interest toward the BRI by noting the presence of the heads of the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a handful of presidents and prime ministers from the European Union, and President Vladimir Putin of Russia. The latter spoke alongside his fellow heads of state of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, who collectively represented Central Asia (Gazeta.ru, Akorda.kz, May 15; Gazeta.uz, Tazabek.kg, May 14). Interestingly, the media coverage of the Beijing summit in the Central Asian region was unanimously positive; whereas in previous years China usually received both praise and criticism. (Jamestown Foundation)

CENTRAL ASIA

Russia Holds Military Exercises in Tajikistan -- But Why Not With CSTO?

Russia and several of its allies, including Armenia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, are conducting joint military exercises this week in Tajikistan. These sorts of exercises have become routine in recent years, but there is an intriguing difference this time.These exercises are typically held under the aegis of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which has been the primary focus of Russia's efforts to build military alliances in the post-Soviet space. But this exercise is instead being held under a different body: the Commonwealth of Independent States Anti-Terrorism Center. (Eurasianet)

Iran Courts Tajikistan

Over the years, many Tajiks have become cognizant that they are increasingly an important piece of the Persian cultural sphere, rather than in the superimposed Russian one that they are so often cast into. Relations between Tajikistan and Iran have seldom received much attention, usually because of the latter’s front-page interactions with the larger, more influential states in the Middle East. Nevertheless, Iran’s relations with the former Soviet republics in Central Asia will be likely to garner significant attention in the coming years, as Tehran seeks to act upon its hegemonic ambitions in the area. (Diplomat)

Uzbekistan: Mr. Mirziyoyev Going to Washington

The leader of Uzbekistan’s next major official foreign visit will reportedly be to the United States.
Uznews.uz cited a press officer for President Shavkat Mirziyoyev as saying the trip is planned for September.Watchers of the region will know that Mirziyoyev and US President Donald Trump have already met, on May 21, during the Riyadh Summit, which brought together leaders of dozens of Arab and mainly Muslim nations. By the accounting of Uzbek media, Trump was positively impressed. (Eurasianet)

Kazakhstan Is Preparing to Effectively Ban Political Opposition
Political opposition never got much of a look in in authoritarian Kazakhstan, where the same man has been in power for over a quarter of a century, but a draft law being considered by the country's rubber stamp parliament is set to make matters even more predictable.The legislature is presently working on a bill that would ban independent candidates from running for the presidency. The bill approved by the majilis (lower chamber of the parliament) on May 24 is designed to eliminate “non-serious candidates”, according to Justice Minister Marat Beketaev (Global Voices)