A report from Dutch bank Rabobank has extolled the possibilities in boosting trade between Europe and China via overland rail link going through Central Asia. The rail networks connections would be collectively known as the Yu-Xin-Ou Railway, and the Radobank report notes that the demand for European fruit, vegetables, dairy, and meat would drive trade…
Iranian and Chinese diplomats recently convened in Beijing to discuss increased cooperation across a number of political and economic sectors in the coming years. With the removal of sanctions looming, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif noted that the country would like to play host to a growing number of Chinese firms and attract Chinese investment…
China’s recent 1.8% devaluation of the yuang triggered a 2.3% drop in the Russian ruble and lowered the global price of oil to below $50 a barrel. The devaluation has worsened the value of the slumping ruble, the results of which have been described in mixed terms by China-Russia analysts. While some allege that the immediate impact…
With rapidly falling exports and huge ambitions, the Chinese Central Bank devalued its currency, the yuan/renminbi which caused major repercussions in financial markets throughout the world. Most took it as a negative sign of flagging growth throughout the global economy and it pushed oil prices, metals, and other commodities down sharply. The People’s Bank of…
According to new data, Russia has surpassed Saudi Arabia as the chief supplier of crude oil, in what was considered an unlikely outcome for the battle over market share since oil prices took a tumble last year. The Chinese data, released by the General Administration of Customs, said that some 927,000 barrels per day were…
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Beijing today, and said that it was time for them to rethink policies that thus far had stifled true cooperation between the two countries. The announcement came after the unveiling of some 24 diplomatic and economic agreements designed to promote communication between the two powers – but Modi also…
In late March we had the chance to sit down with Marlene Laruelle, Director of the Central Asia Program at The George Washington University. Dr. Laruelle is also Research Professor of International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Relations, Associate Director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies and the editor-in-chief of Central Asian Affairs. She has authored and…
China continues to develop plans to implement its New Silk Road policy. Specifically, Beijing recently maneuvered to inject approximately $62bn USD into state-controlled “policy banks” in order to further development of the planned trade route. The strategy outlined by the Chinese government includes significant amounts of infrastructure development throughout the region, as well as already-implemented…
Over the weekend, China unveiled its newest foreign policy initiative: the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) a multilateral development bank headed by Beijing to provide financing for Asian projects. The AIIB is a clear rival to Western-headed development banks such as the IMF, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank, which are all popularly…
China officially launched a behemoth $79.8 billion infrastructure project in its northwestern province of Gansu. The project, while beginning in Gansu, a region of China that shares no land borders with any Central Asian nation, is merely the starting point for a series of large infrastructure development projects which will encompass much of Central Asia.…
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