Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

Chinese troops appear to be operating in Afghanistan, and the Pentagon is OK with it

There is mounting evidence that Chinese ground troops are operating inside Afghanistan, conducting joint counter-terror patrols with Afghan forces along a 50-mile stretch of their shared border and fueling speculation that Beijing is preparing to play a significantly greater role in the country's security once the U.S. and NATO leave. This dynamic stands in stark contrast to the two sides' feisty rhetoric over their ongoing dispute in the South China Sea, and to Washington's vocal condemnation of Russian and Iranian activity in Afghanistan. One explanation may be that this quiet arrangement is mutually beneficial. (Military Times)

Chinese company to build new hydropower plant in Pakistan

China and Pakistan signed a commercial contract for the Dasu hydropower plant on March 8, marking the start of the latter’s long-delayed energy project. As one of the most important energy projects listed in the Vision 2025 program prepared by the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in 2001, the Dasu hydropower plant will be built mainly by China’s Gezhouba Group Co. Ltd. The plant is located 350 kilometers north of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. Once finished, it will generate 12,000 GWh of energy per annum, shrinking the country’s electricity shortage and creating 8,000 local jobs. In addition to the Dasu project, China has also provided funds for the construction of several other hydropower plants in Pakistan. In 2015, China’s $40 billion Silk Road Fund injected capital into China Three Gorges South Asia Investment Ltd. to develop Pakistan’s Karot hydropower project and other clean-energy projects, Xinhua reported. (People's Daily)

The Islamic State Just Threatened China. What Will Beijing Do?

The Islamic State has primarily focused its efforts on terrorizing countries that have participated in the international military campaign against it in Iraq and Syria. China, owing to its principle of non-interventionism in foreign affairs, has not become directly involved in the struggle, but it has supported the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, which the Islamic State considers an opponent. As this week’s video demonstrate, Beijing’s fear that Uyghur foreign fighters would be the primary vector to turn the Islamic States’ sights on China is slowly coming true. Transnational terror groups, including al-Qaeda, have largely ignored China in the past, but the Islamic State’s integration of Uyghurs presents a unique challenge. (The Diplomat)

How a Chinese company Czechs out Europe
One of China's leading private oil companies is on a novel diversification path in Europe. In 2014, CEFC China Energy acquired a 30% stake in the Czech Republic's J&T Banka for 643 million euros ($679 million). Today that stake is 50%. In the intervening years, the company has made a series of other investments in the republic, including one in Invia.cz, an online travel booking site operator. It has also poured money into SK Slavia Praha, one of the country's most storied professional soccer clubs. In addition, it has bought stakes in a brewery, an airline, a media company and a steelmaker, among other businesses. (Nikkei)

Belt and Road forum will clear many doubts

This May will witness China seeking viable solutions to the problems facing the global economy at the Beijing-based Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, where over 20 countries' leaders have confirmed their participation. The forum, as Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi said, aims to make sure that the Beijing-led Belt and Road Initiative (the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road) delivers greater benefits to the world. (ChinaDaily)

China should focus on benefits of ‘One Road’

In terms of economic volume and market capacity, the countries and regions along the Maritime Silk Road far exceed those along the Silk Road Economic Belt. As the world's largest exporter, manufacturer and second largest economy, China should not waste excessive resources on a few small markets while ignoring bigger ones. Due to the differences in transport capacity, costs, efficiency and security, it would be a fantasy and unprofessional to believe that the international railway along the belt can replace transport by sea. International rail transport can only be a supplement to sea transport. This is true for not only China's foreign trade but also global trade. (Global Times)

Lanzhou govt resurrects plans to divert water from Siberia to China’s arid northwest

China is no stranger to massive engineering projects, and the most recent addition to its roster of landscape-reshaping solutions is a recent plan by a city-level institute to divert water from Siberia hundreds of kilometers south to Lanzhou, capital of Northwest China's Gansu Province, to quench the region's desperate thirst. The Lanzhou Urban & Rural Planning and Design Institute, affiliated to Lanzhou's urban planning authorities, has proposed diverting water from Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, to relieve Lanzhou's water crisis, according to a scheme entitled "Vision for Urban Planning 2030" which was released in February. (Global Times)

Ningxia a leader in Arab economic links

The Belt and Road Initiative has made the landlocked Ningxia Hui autonomous region the frontier for opening-up and taking the lead in economic cooperation with Arab and other majority-Muslim countries, the region's top official said. "Businesses from Arab countries have shown increasing interest in seeking cooperation opportunities with us after the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative," Li Jianhua, Party chief of Ningxia, said in an exclusive interview with China Daily. (People's Daily)

Xinjiang to recruit 3,000 policemen

Police in the city of Kashgar, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region plan to offer an attractive package to thousands of new recruits. An online recruitment site of the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau in Kashgar, Kashgar prefecture shows that the police in the city of Kashgar will recruit 3,000 men aged between 18 and 35, according to a notice posted on the government website on 5 March. GlobalTimes People

Xinjiang to launch anti-extremism regulation

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region will launch a new anti-extremism regulation within the year as well as approve a regional Cybersecurity Law as early as this month.
Dong Xinguang, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang People's Congress, told the Global Times on Thursday that the anti-extremism regulation and Xinjiang's Cybersecurity Law will be reviewed at a Xinjiang People's Congress standing committee meeting this month. (Global Times)


CENTRAL ASIA

Diagnosing Central Asia’s Drug Problem
Central Asia is becoming an increasingly open trading area. China launched its “One Belt, One Road” initiative (OBOR) in 2013, with plans for massive investment and substantial development of the transport infrastructure in the region. Moreover, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have been integrated, along with Russia, Armenia, and Belarus, into the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a free trade zone without border controls; Tajikistan also may soon join the EEU. Greater connectivity and the development of free trade zones, despite their promise of economic benefit, have sometimes been criticized as opening the door to an increase in illicit trafficking, and particularly of drugs. This concern has been considered in the context of many economic zones (including the American continent and the European Union), and now is being looked at as a possible concern for Central Asia as well. (CSIS)

Central Asia and Islamic State: The Russian Connection
Impoverished and oppressed, Central Asian migrants to Russia make perfect targets for extremist recruiters. (The Diplomat)