Via The Diplomat, an article on disappointing rail freight use on China’s Iron Silk Road: Containerized rail freight transport under China Rail Express (CR Express) between Europe and China is one of the flagship projects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However these rail links have been in development since 2011, predating the BRI. […]
Read more »Via the Lowry Institute, an article on a a quest to modernise dilapidated infrastructure in Central Europe which has quickly transformed into a geopolitical contest: A new infrastructure connectivity initiative in Central Europe is the latest stage for a geopolitical contest. A diverse group of European Union member states in the traditional “buffer zone” between Western Europe […]
Read more »Via Silk Road Briefing, a look at eight (8) BRI projects in Africa: China’s official Belt and Road website lists 42 African countries who have signed MoU with the Belt & Road Initiative. Africa is considered a key part of China’s infrastructure build efforts, due to its potential for rail, roads, and energy. Many African countries […]
Read more »Via South China Morning Post, commentary on how China should veer away from large-scale, top-down investments and seek to work with local companies to build sustainable projects that benefit Central Asians and minimize government corruption: This February, hundreds of residents of At-Bashy, a mountain town in Kyrgyzstan, gathered to protest against the construction of a new […]
Read more »Via Silk Road Briefing, an OpEd on Mozambique: The US EXIM bank has jumped back into global financial circles by making its first multi-billion direct loan. This 86 year old organization was dormant during 2012-2016 after the US Senate failed to renew its charter in 2012, however the Trump administration reconstituted the board quorum in May 2019, with […]
Read more »Via The Diplomat, commentary on how the CPEC has been a chastening experience for China in the context of the BRI: In the five years since the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was launched, it’s been beset by the winds of local politics and the waves of geopolitics alike. In a new report, titled “Returning to the […]
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