A long-distance cargo train has traveled from China to Iran as part of an attempted revival of the ancient Silk Road, a trans-Asian trade route connecting the east to Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. The 32-container train, which arrived in Tehran on Monday, took 14 days to complete the 6,462 mile (10,399km) journey from China’s … Continue reading
By Christina Lin The ancient Silk Roads crossed Eurasia to link trade between China and its Greco-Roman trading partners until the Ottoman Empire cut it off in the 1400s. With the newly revived One Belt, One Road (OBOR) Initiatives under Chinese President Xi Jinping, will it meet the same fate as Turkey’s President Erdogan asserts his … Continue reading
The Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is interested in expanding eastward and is looking to sign a free trade agreement with Hong Kong, according to Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. “We recently concluded the free trade zone agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam and are currently negotiating with Israel. We are ready … Continue reading
By Julian Dierkes 2015 marked the 25th anniversary of Mongolia’s democratic revolution. So after 25 years of democracy, where does Mongolia stand? And, what role does Asia’s only post-state socialist democracy play internationally? Politically, it was a quiet year. The Mongolian economy remains moribund largely due to domestic policy decisions, exacerbated by international commodity prices. … Continue reading
The government of Kazakhstan has approved a comprehensive privatization plan for 2016-2020, under which the share of state participation in the economy will be cut to 15 percent, National Economy Minister Erbolat Dosayev said on December 28, Kazakh media and regional media report. “On Friday (25 December), we adopted a new comprehensive privatization plan for 2016-2020 with a new list of … Continue reading
Low energy prices, flat production, project delays and aging fields will continue to plague Kazakhstan’s energy sector in 2016. These difficulties will force the Kazakh government to continue downsizing its state energy firm to keep it afloat financially. However, a series of projects that will be in development in 2016 could give Kazakhstan a boost … Continue reading
By David Brewster China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative is an incredibly ambitious undertaking — and perhaps Beijing is only starting to realize just how ambitious it is. The OBOR involves building a host of new infrastructure connections between China, Russia, Central Asia and the Indian Ocean. A complementary series of ports and other infrastructure … Continue reading
Silk road total demand, including the growth of official reserves and commercial imports, has risen from 1,493 tonnes in the year 2000 to over 27,087 tonnes in 2015. The greatest increase has been since the global financial crisis in 2008 with an astonishing increase of 450% over the total amounts accumulated until then. As you … Continue reading
By David P. Goldman, Asia Times We do not know just who detonated the two bombs that killed 95 Kurdish and allied activists in Ankara Saturday, but the least likely conjecture is that President Erdogan’s government is guiltless in the matter. As Turkish member of parliament Lutfu Turkkan, tweeted after the bombing, the attack “was either … Continue reading
By Mark Snowiss Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, angered by Russia’s bombing campaign in Syria, warned Moscow on Thursday that Ankara may look elsewhere for partners to supply natural gas and build its first nuclear power plant. One of the top importers of Russian gas, Turkey has joined with Moscow in a major effort to construct … Continue reading