Multiple Routes Between China And Europe Is Why The New Silk Road Is A Real Game Changer
There are currently three operational rail corridors that physically connect China and Europe. The northern one goes mainly through Russia, and for the most part follows the route of the Trans-Siberian Express. The central route goes all the way across Kazakhstan before linking into the northern route in the west of Russia. While the southern route goes through Kazakhstan to Aktau and either crosses the Caspian Sea by ferry or goes around to Iran before going through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. Along each corridor the transport time is in the ballpark of 10.5 to 16 days. (Forbes)
WHAT A STRONGER ERDOGAN MEANS FOR CHINA
Beijing’s long-term investment in the Turkish leader may prove lucrative if the new executive president can keep a grip on his own nation’s tumultuous internal politicsWHAT A STRONGER ERDOGAN MEANS FOR CHINA
Chinese companies' investment in countries along the Belt and Road rose again in Q1. From January to March, Chinese enterprises invested 2.95 billion U.S. dollars in 43 countries along the Belt and Road, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on 18 April. The investment accounted for 14.4 percent of Chinese firms' total outbound investment in Q1, compared to 9 percent for the same period last year. (Xinhua)
Seven countries to deepen cooperation on China-Europe freight rail services
Railway authorities of China, Belarus, Germany, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Poland and Russia, have signed an agreement to deepen cooperation on China-Europe freight rail services, according to China Railway Corporation.The agreement serves the Belt and Road Initiative, expands the market share of rail freight between Asia and Europe and drives economic development and trade cooperation for counties along the route.(Global Times)Seven countries to deepen cooperation on China-Europe freight rail services
The South China Morning Post’s Nectar Gan cites state media to report that Xinjiang authorities have paid out over a million yuan ($160,000) to 16 police officers and two private citizens in Hotan for their contribution to “maintaining stability.” Hotan, in southern Xinjiang, has been the site of several recent fatal violent incidents. (China Digital Times)
New claims of Chinese oppression against Uyghur people
China has been forcing international Uyghur students to return home by threatening their families with imprisonment. Uighur students who are studying abroad and as well local sources in the region have been forced to return under a new regulation. This has been taking place especially of those student in Turkey, Egypt and Japan, and have been treated as if they are convicted criminals. According to reports, China has begun to apply this practice to the Uyghurs, who are either immigrants or refugees abroad, as well as businessmen. (Worldbullettin)
New claims of Chinese oppression against Uyghur people
China has been forcing international Uyghur students to return home by threatening their families with imprisonment. Uighur students who are studying abroad and as well local sources in the region have been forced to return under a new regulation. This has been taking place especially of those student in Turkey, Egypt and Japan, and have been treated as if they are convicted criminals. According to reports, China has begun to apply this practice to the Uyghurs, who are either immigrants or refugees abroad, as well as businessmen. (Worldbullettin)
China Railway Express to EuropeThe launch of a rail freight service from the Chinese city Chongqing via the Alashankou border crossing in Xinjiang through Central Asia to Europe in March 2011 ushered in a new era for freight on rail as an alternative to shipping by sea or air. China-Europe rail cargo transport has subsequently gained rapid traction, fueled by the rollout of the Belt and Road Initiative.There are currently 40 service lines running through Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Northeast border crossings to destinations in Central Asia, Russia, Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe. With the launch of the Yiwu-London line in January 2017, the trans-Eurasian network now extends to 15 cities in 10 European countries. A total of 1,702 trains made the trans-continental voyage between China and Europe in 2016, up 109 percent from a year before. (China.org)
Rahmah's story: 'I am a Chinese hijabi'
Rahmah is a young Chinese Muslim woman who only began wearing a hijab in her 20s. She describes how she sticks to her religious beliefs, and how she is trying to help Chinese Muslim women reclaim their identity. (BBC)
Xinjiang plans energy trade center in Karamay, eyesexpanded business in Central Asia
Northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has announced a plan to setup an oil and gas trade center in Karamay, as the region sets its sights on doing morebusiness in Central Asia.
Approved by Xinjiang's development and reform commission, the plan is in accordancewith the ambition of the nation's top energy authority to research and set up aninternational energy trade center targeting Central Asia. The Karamay center is intendedto help promote basic infrastructure in Xinjiang, which is a core region in the Belt andRoad Initiative, Xinhua News Agency reported. (People's Daily)
Horses trot through centuries-old breeding farm in northwest China
The video shows a spectacular scene of horses galloping around the Shandan Army Horse Breeding Farm in northwest China's Gansu province on April 8, 2017. The Shandan Army Horse Breeding Farm was first established in 121 B.C. by Huo Qubing, a famous cavalry general in ancient Han Dynasty. At 2,195 square kilometres, the farm is both the largest in Asia and the world's oldest horse breeding farm. (China Plus)
China opens new freight train service to Moscow
Approved by Xinjiang's development and reform commission, the plan is in accordancewith the ambition of the nation's top energy authority to research and set up aninternational energy trade center targeting Central Asia. The Karamay center is intendedto help promote basic infrastructure in Xinjiang, which is a core region in the Belt andRoad Initiative, Xinhua News Agency reported. (People's Daily)
The video shows a spectacular scene of horses galloping around the Shandan Army Horse Breeding Farm in northwest China's Gansu province on April 8, 2017. The Shandan Army Horse Breeding Farm was first established in 121 B.C. by Huo Qubing, a famous cavalry general in ancient Han Dynasty. At 2,195 square kilometres, the farm is both the largest in Asia and the world's oldest horse breeding farm. (China Plus)
China opens new freight train service to Moscow
A new freight train service started on Friday linking the east China port city of Xiamen with Moscow, making it the newest China-Europe freight train route. At 9:30 a.m., the train with 40 containers left the station from Xiamen Free Trade Zone carrying goods worth 363,000 U.S. dollars including granite, lighting supplies, artificial flowers and shoes for Moscow. The train route connects the east and northeast Chinese cities of Nanchang, Nanjing, Jinan and Jinzhou, and crosses the border via Manzhouli Port in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)
Bhutan’s Relations With China and India
The 14th Dalai Lama’s April 4-13 visit to Tawang in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, over which China lays claim, drew thousands of followers. Among these were some 3,000 Bhutanese, who trekked across mountains to see the Tibetan spiritual leader. Bhutan shares a disputed border with Tibet and has close ties with Tibetan Buddhism, complicating its relationship with China. The Sino-Bhutanese border dispute involves 764 square kilometers (sq km) of territory. Beijing claims 495 sq km of territory in the Jakurlung and Pasamlung Valleys in north-central Bhutan and another 269 sq km in western Bhutan, comprising the Doklam Plateau. Doklam Plateau abuts Chumbi Valley, which like the Tawang salient that adjoins Bhutan’s eastern border has enormous strategic significance for China, Bhutan as well as India. India’s defense of its northeast would be undermined should Bhutan cede control over it to China. (Jamestown Foundation)
CENTRAL ASIA
Tajikistan Opens A New Chapter: No Books Allowed In Or Out Without Approval
You might want to think twice before grabbing a book to read on your flight to Tajikistan -- especially if it is written in an unfamiliar script. The country's Culture Ministry recently announced that no books are allowed in or out of the country without written permission, part of a stated effort to prevent valuable manuscripts from being smuggled out of the country. (Rferl)
'Kazakh people wear black only for mourning,' Nazarbayev says suggesting to ban beards and all-black clothes
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev during the meeting with the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Kazakhstan on April 19 spoke for the banning of all-black clothing for women and beards for men.He said (men's) short pants and beard "never were our traditions" and suggested to consider banning it at the legislative level, the Akorda reported. Nazarbayev made an emphasis on "religious ignorance of the younger generation," which is the reason why the young men now grow beards and shorten their pants. (Akipress)
Uzbekistan: Internet Cafes, Gaming Halls Closed En Masse
Security services in Uzbekistan have for the last few days been ordering the closure of internet and computer gaming cafes across the country in what appears to be an attempt to clamp down on suspected extremist religious activity. (Eurasianet)
Bhutan’s Relations With China and India
The 14th Dalai Lama’s April 4-13 visit to Tawang in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, over which China lays claim, drew thousands of followers. Among these were some 3,000 Bhutanese, who trekked across mountains to see the Tibetan spiritual leader. Bhutan shares a disputed border with Tibet and has close ties with Tibetan Buddhism, complicating its relationship with China. The Sino-Bhutanese border dispute involves 764 square kilometers (sq km) of territory. Beijing claims 495 sq km of territory in the Jakurlung and Pasamlung Valleys in north-central Bhutan and another 269 sq km in western Bhutan, comprising the Doklam Plateau. Doklam Plateau abuts Chumbi Valley, which like the Tawang salient that adjoins Bhutan’s eastern border has enormous strategic significance for China, Bhutan as well as India. India’s defense of its northeast would be undermined should Bhutan cede control over it to China. (Jamestown Foundation)
CENTRAL ASIA
Tajikistan Opens A New Chapter: No Books Allowed In Or Out Without Approval
You might want to think twice before grabbing a book to read on your flight to Tajikistan -- especially if it is written in an unfamiliar script. The country's Culture Ministry recently announced that no books are allowed in or out of the country without written permission, part of a stated effort to prevent valuable manuscripts from being smuggled out of the country. (Rferl)
'Kazakh people wear black only for mourning,' Nazarbayev says suggesting to ban beards and all-black clothes
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev during the meeting with the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Kazakhstan on April 19 spoke for the banning of all-black clothing for women and beards for men.He said (men's) short pants and beard "never were our traditions" and suggested to consider banning it at the legislative level, the Akorda reported. Nazarbayev made an emphasis on "religious ignorance of the younger generation," which is the reason why the young men now grow beards and shorten their pants. (Akipress)
Uzbekistan: Internet Cafes, Gaming Halls Closed En Masse
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