Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

Special Security Division established to secure CPEC 
A Special Security Division has been established to secure the $55 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The division, which comprises nine army battalions and six civil wings encompassing 13,700 personnel, has been tasked with securing CPEC projects and protecting Chinese nationals working on the projects. The Ministry of Interior has also issued a notification in this regard according to Radio Pakistan. The ministry will subsequently issue deployment orders after requisition from provinces, an official of the planning division was quoted as having remarked.
(Tribune)

China to auction more Xinjiang oil and gas exploration sites to private investors: media: China will auction about 30 oil and gas blocks, also called exploration sites, in the north western region of Xinjiang this year to investors outside the top state energy firms, state media reported. The move comes as Beijing steps up efforts to boost private participation in the sector. A lack of private investment in oil and gas exploration has been a big stumbling block in Beijing’s attempts to reform the sector and it has picked the hydrocarbon-rich autonomous region of Xinjiang to try to break the grip of the big companies. SCMP

China warned of risk to banks from One Belt, One Road initiative
Beijing’s plan to invest almost $1tn in infrastructure in some of the world’s poorest countries is raising concerns of risks for the Chinese banks backing the projects. Turmoil in countries such as Venezuela, where China has lent $65bn during the past decade, has led to a recalibration of the level of risk facing the One Belt, One Road project in emerging markets, experts say. (FT)

What's Are China's Stakes in Syria?

The presence and activity of Uighurs in the Turkestan Islamic Party in Syria, draws Beijing’s attention to the Middle East. (The Diplomat)

CIA papers reveal China's nuclear free pass to Pakistan

Recently declassified CIA files testify to the depth of the Pakistan-China military relationship built over decades and also highlights how Beijing was willing to risk its own nuclear cooperation with US to boost the nuclear ambitions of 'all weather friend' Pakistan. In the files, the US notes that China did not ask Pakistan to open its nuclear installations to IAEA inspections, after inking a nuclear agreement with the latter. (The Economic Times)

Banker Fears Flow of Chinese Goods on Silk Road in Pakistan

As Pakistan opens itself to China’s Silk Road plan and billions of dollars worth of investment projects, the head of the bank owned by the Abu Dhabi Group is warning of an influx of cheap goods that may leave millions in the South Asian nation jobless. While the Chinese investments and loans worth more than $46 billion will bring new industrial activity and a need for services, Pakistan may be unprepared for a rush of wares from its larger neighbor that it can’t compete against, said Atif Bajwa, chief executive officer at Bank Alfalah Ltd., the country’s sixth largest lender. (Bloomberg)

New China-Mongolia Mining Deal: Economic Windfall or Environmental Threat?

Mongolia recently reached a new deal to sell coal to China, helping it boost its faltering economy and start repaying billions of dollars it owes Wall Street lenders.Under the landmark agreement completed late last year, Mongolia’s state-owned mining company will sell coal to China at roughly double the previously agreed-upon rate. The deal follows a devastating four-year period when Mongolian miners exported coal to China at deeply-discounted prices, sometimes for as little as 11% of the global benchmark price, undercutting Mongolia’s economic growth. Mongolia agreed to those punitive terms to get the loan from China and has been struggling to repay it.

(WSJ)

CENTRAL ASIA

Three months after an embarrassing and fruitless search for Kyrgyzstan’s vanished constitution, its president has signed and ratified a new one, delegating new powers to his prime minister.
The constitution was reported missing late last year when officials began debating changes they wanted to make to it, which would see the prime ministerial role assume responsibilities that the president has, such as appointing and dismissing ministers. The proposed changes were meant to be put to a national referendum, but critics of President Almazbek Atambayev said the vote could be a mere ruse to allow him to retain power. (Newsweek)