Weekly News Roundup: Dispatches from the Silk Road Economic Belt

Afghanistan housing project underlines China´s growing role

Afghan authorities expect work on the first phase of a multimillion-dollar housing project financed by China to begin within months, as Beijing continues to raise its development profile in the region.
The project, originally announced in 2015 during a visit to Kabul by Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao, is expected to see the construction of 10,000 housing units for Afghan civil servants after the project was cleared by both governments last week. The first phase will see 1,400 units built near the old Darulaman palace in the capital Kabul, with China agreeing to provide $73 million (500 million yuan) in finance. Two further phases are expected to follow, depending on the successful implementation of the first stage. “So far, the project is the largest Chinese-supported project in Afghanistan,” Hamid Jalil, a deputy minister at the Ministry of Urban Development told Reuters.(Geo Tv)

Fallout from fall of Chinese executive who sealed copper mine deal in Afghanistan
The disgrace last week of the businessman who won a deal in 2007 for China to develop a copper mine in Afghanistan, which was the largest foreign investment deal in the war-torn country at the time, has highlighted the lack of progress on the project over a decade. (Scmp)

China-Europe new freight train linking Xi'an with Budapest starts operation on Saturday 
A new freight train linking China's northwestern city of Xi'an withBudapest has started operation.
The 41-carriage train loaded with garments, toys, household items and electronic productsmainly made in eastern China's Yiwu City, departed from Xi'an, capital of ShaanxiProvince, on Saturday afternoon. It will leave China through the Alataw Pass in Xinjiang, and pass Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland before reaching its destination in Hungary. The trip spans about 9,300 km and takes 17 days, about 30 days shorter than the previoussea and rail route. Starting Nov. 28, 2013, Xi'an has launched 317 cargo trains to central Asia and Europe, exporting 474,000 tonnes of goods as of April 1 this year. (People's daily)

Why China’s bid to sell high-speed rail technology overseas is losing steam
China’s ambitious strategy to export its high-speed railway technology is facing various obstacles, making its aim of boosting connectivity with nations across continents difficult to achieve, industry insiders said. Construction of high-speed railways abroad is part of Beijing’s massive “One Belt, One Road” initiative to increase trade and infrastructure links with countries from Asia to Africa, but most of the current rail projects have stalled. (Scmp)

China pledges to further deepen defence cooperation with Pakistan

China said 31 March that it is willing to push forward all-weather friendship with Pakistan. This was stated by spokesperson for Chinese Ministry of National Defence, in Beijing 31 March. He said China is willing to work with Pakistan to continuously deepen the exchanges and cooperation between militaries of the two countries. He said the two sides have planned to hold joint army counter-terrorism training in the first half of this year and both sides are still having consultation on related matters. (TheNation)

One Belt, One Road faces scrutiny by EU

During talks with his Serbian counterpart Tomislav Nikolic in Beijing on 30 March, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed “hope” that the Belgrade-Budapest railway project would be advanced. Xi never mentioned the European Union’s pending investigation into the planned high-speed train between the capitals of Serbia and Hungary, but it is hard not to detect a tinge of irritation in his words over the EU’s decision to suspend the China-backed initiative temporarily. (Asia Times)

China official admonishes fellow Uighur cadres for 'anti-terror' failings

A senior Uighur official in China's restive western region of Xinjiang has admonished other Communist Party "cadres" from the mostly Muslim Uighur minority for failing to pull their weight in the fight against terrorism, state media said. (Reuters)

Xinjiang county to recruit more police officers, intensify patrol efforts

The government of Akto county, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, has announced that it will recruit an additional 600 police officers from outside Xinjiang. "In order to strengthen stability maintenance work in the county, intensify our patrol efforts and enhance the people's security, the Akto government has approved the recruitment of 600 police officers, including 500 males and 100 females, for the patrol team in the county's public security bureau," the local government announced on its website on 31 March. (GlobalTimes)

Censure of officials sheds light on sweeping surveillance measures in China’s restive XinjiangThe Communist Party in China’s restive Xinjiang region has punished 97 cadres in its rural south for failing to do a proper job monitoring local residents, providing a rare glimpse into the extent of surveillance imposed in the ethnic-Uygur heartland.The cadres in Hotan prefecture in southern Xinjiang, including seven village police officers, were punished for a wide range of derelictions of duty, such as failing to mark down the exact number of Muslims taking part in congregational prayers, or not knowing who were absent from the weekly flag-raising ceremonies – a compulsory gathering aimed to boost patriotism, during which the national anthem is sung under the Chinese flag. (scmp)

New book introduces Uyghur culture

Before writing Notes of Residency in Southern Xinjiang (南疆住村笔记), Zhao Jiangtao had never imagined he would live in a rural village among Uyghur residents. Graduating from Tsinghua University in 2011, Zhao worked as a government employee in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang. In 2014, in the wake of a slew of terror attacks both in and outside Xinjiang, the regional government decided to send 200,000 officials to rural areas to help reinforce local governments, win over local residents' hearts and uproot extremist ideology.  Zhao was among the first group of government employees sent to southern Xinjiang. During the year he spent in a village in Wushi county, Aksu prefecture, Zhao recorded his interactions with local Uyghurs. These writings later became the basis for Notes. His first book, it was released in January.
(Global Times)

Latvia may link Northern Europe with China via railway

Andrew Johansson, In November 2016, a trial container train from Yiwu City in Zhejiang province in China arrived in Latvia after completing an 11,000 km journey over 12 days through North-eastern China and Siberia. It was a major logistical achievement and signalled China’s commitment to extend its Belt and Road Initiative westward, possibly to Latvia, too. The timing of this China-EU shipment fits within China’s larger goals of increasing trade with Europe through the $4 trillion infrastructure investment program they launched in 2013, known as the Belt and Road Initiative. (TheBalticTimes)

Chinese vice premier to visit CEE countries, attend meetings in Russia, Kazakhstan

Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli will visit Estonia, Slovenia, Albania, and attend meetings in Russia and Kazakhstan from April 11 to 19, a foreign ministry spokesperson said 5 April. China's relations with the 16 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, among which are Estonia, Slovenia, and Albania, have grown in recent years thanks to the rapid development of the "16+1" cooperation mechanism. (Xinhua)

China’s New Silk Road mined with distrust

At a dinner in Shanghai several years ago, I asked a wealthy Chinese entrepreneur why his government continued to support North Korea. How was it in China’s interest to coddle an economic basket case that tests nuclear weapons in the middle of the Chinese New Year? The answer was blunt. “Look at a map,” he replied. “We are ringed by American allies. North Korea is the best we can do.”
Chinese people are proud of their country’s economic renaissance but baffled by its dearth of friends. How does the West retain so much soft power in China’s backyard? (Reuters)


Beijing’s strict capital controls are delaying belt and road project approvals

Mainland firms now need up to three times longer to gain approval for their investments in the government’s trade plan (scmp)


China to turn Chernobyl into solar power plant

Two Chinese companies have announced plans to build a one gigawatt solar photovoltaic plant in the exclusion zone surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, reviving the site after the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history, RT reports. (Tengrinews)

China and Russia: Friends with strategic benefits

Is the relationship between China and Russia just an axis of convenience – a limited partnership with no real empathy between the two parties, spiced by deep-seated and well-hidden mutual mistrust? Or is it an emerging alliance of revisionist authoritarian powers which marries Beijing’s growing economic power with Russia's brazenness to challenge the international liberal order? And more importantly, what are the challenges posed by growing rapport between China and Russia to Western interests and leadership? To address these questions, one needs to unwrap the Sino-Russian relationship from many layers of myth, spin-doctoring, and old wisdom projected onto current developments. (The Interpreter)

Russian-Chinese Joint Ventures in Russia’s Far East, Arctic

Since 2001, Russian-Chinese relations have been largely grounded in security issues, both military and economic. The former is a shared perception of an increasingly aggressive United States and, in the case of Russia, concerns over the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) deployments on the periphery of both countries. In the economic sphere, the defining element is China’s rising interest in Russian energy exports. These twin issues will dominate Russian-Chinese relations for the foreseeable future and—given the geographical distances involved—focus increasingly on Russia’s Far East and the opening up of the Russian Arctic. Russia’s commitment to building up its Arctic infrastructure, as well as China’s interest in this pursuit, was illustrated by the arrival, on March 30, of Sovcomflot’s $300 million Kristof de Marzheri liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker at the Kara Sea port of Sabetta, on the Yamal Peninsula (Komsomolskaya Pravda, April 2; see EDM, March 29). (Jamestown Foundation)

India Moves Mountains to Build Military Road to China Border

AME CHUNG CHUNG, India—On the near-vertical slopes of the eastern Himalayas, workers are blasting and cutting treacherous rock faces to build a top-priority military asset: a 34-mile road to the country’s disputed border with China. India is accelerating work on strategic roads to be able to move troops and supplies to the border faster and deploy sophisticated weapons if armed conflict breaks out. China already has extensive infrastructure on its side. (Wsj)


First trainload of Russian wheat arrives in China

A freight train fully loaded with Russian wheat arrived at Manzhouli land portin north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Saturday.This is the first bulk shipment of Russian wheat to enter China via the land port after thetwo countries reached deals on quarantine inspection requirements for exporting Russianwheat, corn, rice and soybean to China in December 2015. (Ppl's Daily)




CENTRAL ASIA


Challenging the Central Asian Migrant Myth: Separation and Radicalization
It’s a seemingly obvious path from migrant worker to radical in the minds of many, characterized by separation and marginalization and thus clear vulnerability to radicalization. But as respected migration studies scholar Sergey Abashin, a professor of history at the European University in St. Petersburg, explained at a timely talk hosted by George Washington University’s Central Asia Program on Tuesday, research does not back up several common assumptions about Central Asian migrant workers in Russia, especially with regard to religiosity and radicalization. (The Diplomat)

Latest Majlis podcast: New book reveals Central Asia's connections to the outside world 

Central Asia often seems like a remote region. You don’t hear much about Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan playing roles in international affairs. There is an impression that the five countries are tucked away in the heart of the Eurasian landmass with only the most tenuous of ties to the world outside. A new book, Dictators Without Borders: Power And Money In Central Asia, argues that this is far from the case, that the elites of these countries are, in fact, very well connected to the outside and are also very knowledgeable about laws and regulations in the world beyond Central Asia. (Rfl)

Tajikistan steps up battle against Islamic clothing

Clothing factories in Tajikistan are churning out brightly coloured national dresses amid a surge in sales, and it's not just because of the arrival of spring. An increasing number of female officials, teachers and students have been wearing the Atlas and other traditional dresses following a recommendation by the Central Asian country's government. (Yahoo)

Kazakhstan Takes Over Russian Missile Test Site

Kazakhstan has shut down another Russian military testing site, as it steadily removes Moscow's Soviet-legacy military footprint. On April 5, President Nursultan Nazarbayev ratified an agreement to take over the Emba missile testing site, in the Aktobe region of western Kazakhstan, from Russia. (Eurasia.net)
SCO Expansion Should Not Threaten the West

Expanding the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will strain its functions but could boost trade and relations between Central Asia and South Asia, writes Raffaello Pantucci. (The Conway Bullettin)

Is Investment in Infrastructure the Answer to Russia’s Economic Problems?

It will be nearly impossible for Russia to revive its economy through state investment in infrastructure alone. Conservative estimates suggest that Russia would have to invest 15 percent of its GDP in infrastructure annually for many years to have a significant effect on the economy. (Carnegie)

Deadly Bomb Explosion in St. Petersburg Metro Exposes Vulnerability of Russia’s Cities

As of April 6, no known terrorist organization has claimed responsibility, but the authorities blame radical Islamists and the Islamic State (IS), in particular. Though, in most cases, the IS does not hesitate to claim responsibility for deadly acts of terrorism. The Russian authorities have named Akbarzhon Jalilov as their prime suspect. He allegedly carried the bomb onto the train in a backpack and was allegedly the suicide attacker. Jalilov (22), an ethnic Uzbek, was born in Osh—a city in the Fergana Valley region in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan, which has a sizable ethnic-Uzbek population. (Jamestown Foundation)