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China’s Silk Road Economic Belt
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The Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) initiative put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his Central Asia visits in September 2013 is considered as one of the two diplomatic initiatives by the new Chinese leadership, with Central Asia the centrepiece of the Belt. Silk Road Economic Belt routes (Credit: kommersant.uz — Click to enlarge) The success of the SREB will to a large extent depend on how well Central Asian countries and the region’s dominant power, Russia, respond to China’s initiative. While official statements tend to suggest that all Central Asian countries and Russia are supportive of SREB, a closer look reveals that those parties have serious geopolitical anxieties towards SREB — thus posing the biggest challenge for China. Central Asia: RMB welcome, but not Chinese Since the announcement of the SREB by Xi Jinping in September 2013, leaders of all Central Asian countries have publicly expressed support for SREB. The positive response of the Central Asian countries can be easily understood: SREB offers them (...)
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Economic Consequences of the US Withdrawal from the Nuclear Deal
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The Economic Consequences of the US Withdrawal from the Nuclear Deal (PDF) (Click to download) The Economic Consequences of the US Withdrawal from the Nuclear Dealn Murat Aslanr Center for Iranian Studies in Ankara — İRAM (September 2018) ISBN-13: 978-605-7559-02-9 Last May, Donald Trump announced the American withdrawal from the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement, a decision that opens a period of great uncertainty on the international relations front. Concluded in 2015 in Vienna between the Islamic Republic and the so-called 5+1 group (China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Germany, Russia and United States), this agreement made it possible to put an end to Iran’s isolation by lifting (...) -
Do not Ride the Bomb
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Some reports said the victims included the personal facilities commander of the Revolutionary Guards in the Khuzestan region, as well as a Revolutionary Guard colonel and military personnel who were said to have fought on Syrian and Iraqi fronts. Although some attributed the attack to the separatist Al-Ahwaz (الأحواز) organization, carried out by a sympathetic group who published videos of the supposed perpetrators, but no further details on how the attack was carried out was given, neither whether the attackers came to Iran from neighbouring countries or from within Iran itself. The intricate Iranian retaliation reflected the position of Tehran, which seemed confused, hinting the perplexity (...)
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Eurasian Rail Alliance Index
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The CILF 2018, the 13th China (Shenzhen) International Logistics and Transportation Fair took place from 11 October to 13 October in the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Centre in Shenzhen, China and was organized by the City Government. The Fair gathered more than 1,800 exhibitors from 50 countries, with international companies having over 30% of (...) -
Pakistani Poker: Playing Saudi Arabia against China
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The Pakistani moves threaten a key leg of the $60 bln [*] plus Chinese investment in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a crown jewel of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative. They also could jeopardize Chinese hopes to create a second overland route to Iran, a key node in China’s transportation links to Europe. Finally, they (...)
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China Struggles with Belt and Road Pushback
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“It’s normal and understandable that development focus can change at different stages in different countries, especially with changes in government. So China can also make some strategic adjustments when cooperating with these countries, but it’s definitely not a reconsideration of the B&R (Belt and Road) initiative”, Wang Jun, deputy director of the Department of Information at the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges told the (...) -
The Assault on Fortress Qatar
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In order for such a move to work, the Saudi-led bloc had to rely on primitive tribal tactics — hoping that this would create cracks in Qatar’s internal cohesion — thus generating enough problems inside Doha to facilitate the idea of a soft coup against the emir of Qatar. Don Saoud and Fort Qatar (Click to enlarge) The tribal card Big and powerful tribes, such as al-Hawajer and al-Murrah, can be found on both sides of the border in Saudi (...) -
Tajikistan Agriculture Problem
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Food Security and Political Stability in Tajikistan Raj Kumar VIJ Books (India) Pty Ltd (2018) ISBN-10: 8193759133 ISBN-13: 978-8193759134 This book is an attempt to fill the academic void on Tajikistan, especially pertaining to its food security. This work traces the history of agriculture and food production in Tajikistan from mid-19th century when it came under Russian rule. There are links between food security and political stability (...)
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