Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ plan pushing through global headwinds

President Xi Jinping, who is consolidating his power at home, is planning to host a big “One Belt, One Road” summit in China next year, sources close to the central government told the South China Morning Post, adding that the event would match, if not exceed, the scale of this year’s G20 summit in Hangzhou, which attracted 30 state leaders. (SCMP)


Central Asia’s tortured Chinese love affair
On 30 August 2016, a suicide bomber attacked the Chinese embassy in Bishkek. It was the first time since Central Asian independence 25 years ago that Chinese state symbols have been directly targeted. This attack raises a few questions. Is there a growing resentment of China among Central Asian populations? Is this resentment a threat to Chinese interests in Central Asia? And could this change China’s approach in Central Asia or make its presence in the region questionable? (East Asia Forum)

First cargo train from China leaves for Karachi

China and Pakistan have launched a direct rail and sea freight service, with the first cargo train departing from Yunnan, an inland province in southwest China, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The new rail, sea freight service will cut logistics cost, including that of transport, by 50 per cent compared to past services, the news agency reported. (Dawn)

Chinese investor paid $3.3M to buy Ukrainian state-owned bank (UBRD), says local authorities on Wed  China's Bohai Commodity Exchange Co., Ltd. (BOCE) purchased the Ukrainian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (UBRD), localauthorities said Wednesday. (People's Daily)

Turkmenistan launches railway to Afghanistan to boost exports

Turkmenistan opened a railway link to Afghanistan on Monday to boost exports of fuel as the gas-rich but cash-strapped nation seeks to ease its dependence on China and Russia - the volume of gas sales to China, the current main buyer, is limited by pipeline capacity. On the Afghan side, the link goes to the Aqina dry port in the Faryab province, but there are plans to extend it further. The Turkmen government said in a statement the railway would become part of longer link that would eventually connect landlocked Central Asia to China and Southeast Asia. (Reuters)

China dismisses report of military patrols in Afghanistan

China's Defence Ministry on Wednesday dismissed reports Chinese military vehicles were patrolling inside Afghanistan, after an Indian media outlet said Chinese security forces were making regular patrols there. India's WION news outlet this month published pictures on its website showing what it said were likely Chinese security forces patrolling in Afghanistan's far northeastern Little Pamir region, where the country shares a border with China. Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun dismissed the report. (Reuters)


Police Confiscate Passports in Parts of Xinjiang, in Western China (New York Times)

To Kashgar and beyond in Xinjiang, China’s wild west
From the shouts of the livestock traders in Kashgar’s market to the Kyrgyz yurt we sleep in beneath the remote, majestic Muztagh Ata mountain range in Xinjiang, it’s China - but not as you know it.(SCMP)

CRRC on track to take over Czech firm

China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, the country's largest railway vehicle and equipment manufacturer, is in takeover talks with Czech Republic's Skoda Transportation AS, a move to further increase its market share in Europe's railway markets. CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co, one of CRRC's manufacturers mainly producing electric locomotives, is in charge of the talks to buy a 100 percent stake in Skoda Transportation, the Hunan-based company said on 27 November. The Czech company mainly produces trams, electric locomotives, carriages and electric buses, as well as traction motors or complete drives for traffic systems. If the deal is sealed, this will be the first time the Chinese group has taken over a full-set rail transit equipment manufacturer. People

China vows sound policy for stronger cooperation with Kazakhstan: A senior Chinese official 28 November promised favourable policies to support cooperation with Kazakhstan. Vice Premier Zhang Gaolimade the remarks when co-chairing the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee with Kazakhstan First Deputy Prime Minister Askar Mamin in Beijing. Facilitated by President Xi Jinpingand Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries has been elevated to a new high, said Zhang. People

China slaps new fees on Mongolian exporters amid Dalai Lama row
A major border crossing between China and Mongolia has imposed new fees on commodity shipments between the two countries, amid a diplomatic row sparked by the visit to Ulaanbaatar of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama last week. The crossing at Gashuun Sukhait is used to export copper from the giant Oyu Tolgoi mine run by Rio Tinto, as well as coal from the Tavan Tolgoi mine, which China's state-owned Shenhua Group is currently in the running to develop. The crossing in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia would charge vehicles a transit fee of 10 yuan ($1.45) each time they pass through the border, and would also impose an additional charge of 8 yuan per tonne for any goods they are delivering, according to a notice issued by local authorities and published by the Mongolian Mining Journal on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Georgia’s Weak Opposition Looks on As Ruling Party Flirts with China

While a split within the United National Movement (UNM) party threatens to sink the Georgian pro-Western opposition into political chaos, the ruling Georgian Dream–Democratic Georgia (GDDG), which enjoys a constitutional supermajority in the parliament, is readying to swiftly reorient Georgia’s foreign policy priorities. One source of potential concern are the security policy implications of the rapidly growing economic presence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Georgia. The South Caucasus country is now firmly in the orbit of Beijing’s Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road projects. Labeled “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR), these strategic transit mega projects are estimated to cost $3–4 trillion over the next thirty years. China is primarily seeking to utilize the Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway, to be completed in 2017, as its own transport corridor connecting Central Asia to Europe by rail and ferry, thus sidelining Russia. (Jamestown Foundation)