CONTENTS: Guest blog: Etikettenschwindel ‘Global Gateway’ +++ Lebenszeichen zum BRI-Jubiläum +++ Europäische Seidenstraße in Zentralasien +++ Global Gateway-Forum in Brüssel +++ Schuldenkrise: Streicheleinheiten vom IWF +++ Wer “Doppelnutzung” finden will, findet sie auch +++ Das „gefährlichste Schlupfloch“ in der regelbasierten Ordnung +++ Konnektivitäts-Initiativen +++ Lesehinweis: Sackgasse Polare Seidenstraße +++ Blog Roll Update +++ Quote: Who’s afraid of debt?
Tag Archives: Central Asia
Newsletter 22/July 2023
Contents: Deutsche China-Strategie: “Wasch mir den Pelz,…!” +++ Wird Indonesien Chinas ‘Ruhrgebiet’? +++ BRI 10 years after: Geringe Feierlaune +++ Mapping global infrastructure +++ Chinesischer Grüngürtel in Zentralasien (und anderswo) +++ Lithium: Claims abstecken in Lateinamerika +++ China’s overseas economic and trade cooperation zones +++ A Guide to Chinese Commercial Banks +++ Quote: Im Netz der „Einflussoperationen“
Newsletter 17/January 2023
Contents: Belt&Road Forum in diesem Jahr? +++ Was wird aus dem Seidenstraßenprojekt? +++ Central Asia: Forward Defense of Freedom +++ Chinas Rohstoffregime am Beispiel Graphit +++ Chinas neuer Außenminister auf diplomatischer Safari +++ Gipfel-Konkurrenz um Afrika +++ BRICS: Ein zerstrittener Fünfer-Club sucht neue Mitglieder +++ China-freundliche Regierung in Nepal? +++ Brasilien: Mit China aus der Krise? +++ Ups and Downs along the Silk Roads +++ Quote: Periphery Diplomacy
Central Asia: Forward Defence of Freedom
The Euro-transatlantic view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine largely ignores its significance for Central Asia. The Kremlin’s martial stop signal for further NATO expansion should probably also send a message to Russia’s eastern neighbours: We are still capable of defending our sphere of influence and interests in the region. The outcome of the Ukraine war is therefore also of decisive importance for the future credibility of this claim.
Ukraine-Russia: Those who are not with us ….
For its answer to the war against Ukraine, the Western world is looking for partners all over the world. But after the unexpectedly widespread support in the United Nations for Russia’s condemnation, many countries of the Global South have since taken a rather more neutral attitude, because the escalation of the conflict goes against their own interests. There are signs of a new alliance emerging, which could benefit China in particular.
Empire Building with DCS?
In the West, China is currently seen as an important driving force behind the global economic recovery after the Corona crisis. But can it continue to fulfil this role – or is “the future of globalisation with China at stake”, according to the European Chamber of Commerce in China? The background to this apprehensive question is the “new economic model” that state and party leader Xi Jinping announced in May 2020, the ‘Dual Circulation Strategy’, DCS.
The “Digital Silk Road” in Central Asia
In 2015, the People’s Republic of China proposed the so-called “Digital Silk Road” initiative (DSR) in 2015. The scale of Chinese investment is testament to the government’s immense interest in the project. According to data gathered by the International Institute of Strategic Studies, China is currently participating in digital infrastructure projects in around 80 countries, and has already invested some 79 billion US dollars in DSR schemes worldwide.
Newsletter 3/July 2021
CONTENTS: Posts: Options for Beijing in Afghanistan: ‚From free rider to engine driver?’ / Guest post by Ying Wang on Chinese NGOs ‚Going global’ / Blog roll: The People’s Map of Global China / Workers Struggles along the New Silk Roads (in German) / News: Who Funds Overseas Coal Plants // Readings: The Impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on Conflict States.
Protests in Kyrgyzstan and the Silk Roads
Kyrgyzstan is not exactly an outstanding pillar of the Belt&Road Initiative. But the current political disputes in the Central Asian country, triggered by the rebellion against the outcome of the parliamentary elections on October 4, 2020, cast a spotlight on how vulnerable China’s prestigious BRI project is.