Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

China's Belt and Road Initiative, Five Years In
In the past five years, China has spent at least $34 billion on the Belt and Road Initiative, focusing primarily on connectivity projects such as railways, ports, energy pipelines and grids. And though China has made major progress toward its long-term goals, it has also experienced several delays and setbacks. Given the sheer scale of the Belt and Road Initiative and how many large projects it encompasses, hold-ups, cancellations and failures are to be expected. But the causes of delays, in some cases a result of increased skepticism and resistance to China's strategic aims, will continue to shape the future development of the Belt and Road Initiative. (stratfor)


In Europe's east, a border town strains under China's Silk Road train boom
A study published by the Shanghai-based Donghua University last year estimated that provincial governments in China had collectively spent $303 million subsidizing China-Europe block trains (Reuters)

China-led AIIB invests $4.2 billion in 2017
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) released its annual report over the weekend, posting a total investment of $4.2 billion for last year in energy, transport, and infrastructure projects throughout the continent and North Africa, Caixin reports.The bank’s investments jumped 150% in 2017 from the previous year, which was also its first full year in operation after its founding. Net income increased $85 million from 2016, according to the report, and total paid-in capital was $19 billion.

From China to Central Asia, a regional security bloc’s long, slow march towards an alternative world order
Various heads of state from member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) met in the Chinese city of Qingdao for the bloc’s annual heads of state meeting.The SCO’s activities have been limited in the decade and a half since it was formed but this year’s summit had some significant moments. First and foremost was the presence of – and handshake between – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain.(Scmp)

Central Asian members of SCO grapple with diminished roles after admission of new members
Astana and Tashkent feared that having the world’s top two most populous countries as members, importing protracted India-Pakistan tensions into the SCO, as well as Russian diplomatic intrigues meant to exploit the former could easily divert the organization’s focus away from Central Asia. (Jamestown Foundation)

New bonded zone inaugurated in Xinjiang

A comprehensive bonded zone has been launched in Urumqi, the third in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.The zone, covering 2.4 square kilometers, is in the northwestern part of the regional capital, near a container hub for railway transport, an expressway and an international airport. (China Daily)

Is China Bringing Peace to Afghanistan?
China’s role in Afghanistan is undoubtedly growing. What does that mean for the peace process? (Diplomat)

China and Nepal sign 14 infrastructure and connectivity deals
China and Nepal have signed 14 agreements on issues including infrastructure, railway, energy, post-disaster reconstruction and human resources.It came after bilateral talks between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Nepali counterpart Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli on Thursday in Beijing.The two leaders also witnessed the signing of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on capacity. (Global Times)

China to build railway into Nepal: China Daily
China will build a railway connecting the western region of Tibet with Nepal, the China Daily reported on Friday, one of several bilateral deals signed during Nepali Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli’s visit to Beijing.The link will connect the Tibetan city of Xigaze with Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, the paper said. (Reuters)

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor:Opportunities and Risks
What’s new? Pakistani leaders say the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), launched in 2015, is a “game changer” for the country’s ailing economy. But opaque plans for the corridor, the upheaval likely to affect locals along its route, and profits flowing mostly to outsiders could stir unrest. The government has repressed CPEC critics. (crisisgroup)

CENTRAL ASIA 

Uzbekistan’s New Era Might Just Be Real
Long-needed reforms are changing what was once a grim autocracy. Washington can help. (Foreign Policy)

Bukhara, condannati per tortura cinque funzionari dei servizi segreti dell’era Karimov
Pene che variano dai 14 ai 18 anni. Altre quattro guardie carcerarie condannate a 18 anni con le stesse accuse. Da quando è salito al potere, Mirziyoyev cerca di affrancare il Paese dal passato di Karimov, ma le torture continuano.

Nazarbayev Won't Be Kazakhstan's Next President...Or Will He?

Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, head of the Kazakh Senate, suggested Nazarbayev won’t run in 2020 — then walked the comment back. (Diplomat)

Gazprom again discusses building gas pipeline across North and South Korea
Russian news agencies are reporting that Seoul has asked Russia’s Gazprom to resume talks involving North Korea about the construction of a Russian gas pipeline through the two Koreas. The South Korean government has long been interested in purchasing Russian gas via a north–south pipeline. Indeed, the two sides agreed on a planned route already in 2011, but tensions between the two Koreas put everything on hold. Now, however, the recent warming of relations between Seoul and Pyongyang as well as Trump’s meeting with Kim, Seoul believes, have opened new possibilities (Politikus.ru, June 16).