China's new 'Silk Road' cannot be one-way, France's Macron says
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday China and Europe should work together on Beijing’s “Belt and Road” initiative, a project aiming to build a modern-day “Silk Road” he said could not be “one-way”. (Reuters)
Rising tide of jihadists stopped trying to return to China, Chinese advisers say
The number of “trained jihadist fighters” intercepted trying to re-enter China rose dramatically last year, posing a growing challenge for the country, according to Chinese government security and diplomatic advisers. (scmp)
Rights Situation in Xinjiang Has ‘Further Deteriorated’ in Recent Months: CECC
Restrictions on religion and security controls have intensified in northwest China’s Xinjiang region in recent months, a congressional commission said Monday, warning that Washington’s anti-terrorism cooperation with Beijing must not come at the cost of the rights of ethnic Uyghurs.In a statement, the Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC) said that the situation in Xinjiang had “further deteriorated” since the release of its 2017 annual report, which found that freedoms of speech and religion, the rule of law, and individual rights and freedoms had worsened under the ruling Chinese Communist Party. (Rfa)
Is Nepal falling for China’s soft power charm offensive?
Mandarin lessons, orchestral performances and more than US$80 million of investment are helping Beijing to win hearts and minds in its tiny, but perfectly placed neighbour (Scmp)
Manzhouli imports over 1,700 tonnes of LPG from Russia in 2017
A Visa-Free Zone Welcomes Your Wallet. But Maybe Not Your Beard
Except for men with long beards and women wearing veils or jewelry with a crescent moon motif, just about anyone can enter Chinese territory — at least a few miles of it — across a frontier marked only by two thin stripes of paint daubed across the road.The stripes — one red, one light blue — demarcate the border between China’s restive region of Xinjiang in the far west of the country and Kazakhstan, a Central Asian neighbor. (NYT)Mandarin lessons, orchestral performances and more than US$80 million of investment are helping Beijing to win hearts and minds in its tiny, but perfectly placed neighbour (Scmp)
Manzhouli imports over 1,700 tonnes of LPG from Russia in 2017
Manzhouli, a major land port of entry on China's border with Russia, imported over 1,700 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Russia in 2017, the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region said Monday. (Xinhua)
Rising tide of jihadists stopped trying to return to China, Chinese advisers say
The number of “trained jihadist fighters” intercepted trying to re-enter China rose dramatically last year, posing a growing challenge for the country, according to Chinese government security and diplomatic advisers. (scmp)
Rights Situation in Xinjiang Has ‘Further Deteriorated’ in Recent Months: CECC
Call to respect EU unity as China builds ties with eastern Europe
The unity of the European Union should be fully respected as countries from central and eastern Europe edge closer to China, the EU ambassador to China said on Wednesday. (scmp)China to fund base in Afghanistan
China will fund construction of an Afghan counterterrorism base in Badakshan province to block cross-border infiltration of the ethnic Uyghur militants.Fergana News Agency (FNA) has quoted Gen. Dawlat Waziri of the Afghan Defence Ministry as saying that China will provide financial support to build the base, whose precise location inside Badakshan, in northern Afghanistan, is yet to the determined. (The Hindu)
China boosts border controls in Xinjiang after reported returns of jihadists
China has beefed up border controls in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to counter jihadists returning from Syria after the widely reported defeat of Islamic State (IS), a military officer said.
"The control and management of immigration at border areas here has been strengthened in recent years," said a military officer of border defense in Xinjiang's Kashgar, a prefecture that shares a border with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan. Xinjiang passed its own version of the counter-terrorism law in August 2016. The law is a supplement to the national counter-terrorism law approved in December 2015 to define terrorist activities and the corresponding punishment.
The law added provisions, including one which states leaders of extremist groups will be placed in solitary confinement and another that recruiting people for terrorist activities would be considered an act of terrorism.
(Global Times)
China boosts border controls in Xinjiang after reported returns of jihadists
China has beefed up border controls in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to counter jihadists returning from Syria after the widely reported defeat of Islamic State (IS), a military officer said.
"The control and management of immigration at border areas here has been strengthened in recent years," said a military officer of border defense in Xinjiang's Kashgar, a prefecture that shares a border with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan. Xinjiang passed its own version of the counter-terrorism law in August 2016. The law is a supplement to the national counter-terrorism law approved in December 2015 to define terrorist activities and the corresponding punishment.
The law added provisions, including one which states leaders of extremist groups will be placed in solitary confinement and another that recruiting people for terrorist activities would be considered an act of terrorism.
(Global Times)
Spotlight: Chinese yuan to facilitate Pakistan in trade, investment activities: experts
Economists and businessmen have termed Pakistan's recent decision to use the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, as a foreign currency for denominating foreign currency transactions in the country as a great historical step.They also said that the decision would ease pressure on the country's foreign currency exchange reserves in U.S. dollars and facilitate transactions for trade and investment activities. (Xinhua)
US Planned Big Boost in Military Aid to Tajikistan
This is changing in two big ways. Some projects are flipping the axis of travel from east to west, bridging the expanse of Eurasia. In the meantime, governments are also understanding the importance of small, local connections in lifting their nations out of isolation. (Eurasia)
Black snow blanketed a Kazakh city.
CENTRAL ASIA
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan Reach Visa Deal, Settle Border Dispute
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have reached a deal to scrap visa requirements for their citizens to visit one another’s countries for stays of up to one month.In another signal of warming ties between the historically suspicious neighbors, agreement has been reached on how to jointly manage a disputed section of land that hosts a hydropower station. (Eurasiant)Tajikistan, Uzbekistan Reach Visa Deal, Settle Border Dispute
US Planned Big Boost in Military Aid to Tajikistan
The United States planned a large increase in special forces training programs for Tajikistan, newly released US government documents show.The US also was planning to offer special forces training programs to Kyrgyzstan for the first time since being evicted from the air base it used to operate in the country, according to the new data. (Eurasia)
Taking the Temperature of Turkmenistan’s Economic Meltdown
In his year-end address to the nation, Turkmenistan’s president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, brimmed with enthusiasm. He extolled 2017 as a year of unprecedented success, featuring “massive transformations” and glorious achievements, and predicted the coming 12 months would be marked by a “bountiful harvest and prosperity.”(Eurasianet)
The Rail Deal for Central Asia
It is an exciting time to be a railway enthusiast in Central Asia.Routes have traditionally wended south to north, tying the region to Russia, where the center of geopolitical influence once lay.Taking the Temperature of Turkmenistan’s Economic Meltdown
In his year-end address to the nation, Turkmenistan’s president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, brimmed with enthusiasm. He extolled 2017 as a year of unprecedented success, featuring “massive transformations” and glorious achievements, and predicted the coming 12 months would be marked by a “bountiful harvest and prosperity.”(Eurasianet)
The Rail Deal for Central Asia
This is changing in two big ways. Some projects are flipping the axis of travel from east to west, bridging the expanse of Eurasia. In the meantime, governments are also understanding the importance of small, local connections in lifting their nations out of isolation. (Eurasia)
Black snow blanketed a Kazakh city.
Temirtau in central Kazakhstan is home to the country’s biggest steel-production plant—locals believe pollution has turned snow black.
Turkmen Farmers Forced to Pay for Missing Cotton Targets
In Turkmenistan, farmers have been punished for an unsuccessful plan to collect cotton, Azatlyk Radio (Turkmen service of Radio Liberty) reports.Farmers from Dashoguz, a city in the north-east of Turkmenistan, told radio stations that those who had not reached their cotton targets are being summoned to the prosecutor's office for interrogation, then a case is brought to court and the judge hands down a verdict on compulsory payment of debts. The property of those who fail to pay this debt is confiscated by and for the state. (Fergana News)
Turkmen Farmers Forced to Pay for Missing Cotton Targets
In Turkmenistan, farmers have been punished for an unsuccessful plan to collect cotton, Azatlyk Radio (Turkmen service of Radio Liberty) reports.Farmers from Dashoguz, a city in the north-east of Turkmenistan, told radio stations that those who had not reached their cotton targets are being summoned to the prosecutor's office for interrogation, then a case is brought to court and the judge hands down a verdict on compulsory payment of debts. The property of those who fail to pay this debt is confiscated by and for the state. (Fergana News)
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