Via Eurasia Review, a report on COVID-19′s impact on China’s demand for natural gas from Central Asia: China’s COVID-19 outbreak has seen Beijing’s demand for natural gas stutter, after years of breakneck expansion. In February, China’s natural gas demand was estimated to have fallen 17 percent year-on-year, and while there were some subsequent indications of recovery for liquefied natural […]
Read more »Via The National Interest, an article on signs that China’s ambitions with the Belt and Road Initiative—and all its digital components—are part of the sticky power of a new hegemony: China switched on the largest commercial 5G network to date on October 31, 2019. That’s when China’s three state-owned wireless carriers, China Mobile, China Unicorn, and […]
Read more »Via Forbes, a look at some bump roads along China’s BRI in Central Asia: Last year, during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Kyrgyzstan for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, a new $275 million free-trade zone on the Kyrgyz-Chinese border was born. Led by the Chinese firm One Lead One (HK) Trading Limited and a […]
Read more »Via The Asia Times, a report that China is looking to the Irrawaddy River as alternative trade route as its high-speed rail plan stalls: Ethnic wars, security concerns and official foot-dragging have all conspired to stall China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) plan to build a high-speed railroad from its southwest down through Myanmar’s volatile northern […]
Read more »Via The New York Times, commentary on how the Trump administration sees former Soviet republics in the heart of Asia as critical battlegrounds in the struggle with China over global influence: Inside the ancient walls of the Silk Road oasis town of Khiva, China has put down a marker of its geopolitical ambitions. A sign promotes a […]
Read more »Courtesy of STRAFOR (subscription required), a look at how Bangladesh’s efforts to maintain the country’s explosive economic growth will require updating its overburdened trade infrastructure — opening opportunities for China, India and Japan: To maintain its status as one of Asia’s most promising emerging markets, Bangladesh is pursuing an ambitious infrastructure overhaul — and its […]
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