China Railways and the Kazakhstan equivalent, the Kazakh Temir Zholy have had their first meeting to coordinate transport since the outbreak of Covid-19. Taking place in Beijing last week, an upward trend in cargo transport between the two countries was noted, reaching a record high of over 23 million tons in 2022, 15% more than[…..]
Numerous connectivity infrstructure projects are repositioning Mongolia as an energy and transit hub for Northeast Asia  The ongoing transformation of the world order is inevitably affecting the regional subsystems of international relations. Mongolia is the only country in the region that has practically no significant disputes or disagreements with any states. Due to the[…..]
Pan-Eurasian M&A deals unfold as EU auto manufacturers exit Russia and Eurasian investors capitalize the opportunities Russia’s auto manufacturer AFK Sistema is looking at buying the exited German automaker Volkswagen’s manufacturing facility in Kaluga, with several other parties also potentially involved in the deal. Kazakhstan’s Allur is said to be interested, produces cars and has[…..]
Repositioning Eurasian trade routes is proving a complex exercise By Emil Avdaliani, with additional commentary by Chris Devonshire-Ellis  The Russia-Ukraine conflict is continuing to reshape Eurasian connectivity. As the traditional Russian route, which served as a major corridor for decades between the EU and China is facing problems, favorable alternative conditions for trade routes[…..]
Russia is ready to move to the practical implementation of the missing components of the International North-South Corridor (INSTC), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov. According to Lavrov, discussions are underway on the construction of the section Rasht-Astara, which is currently missing.
By Farzad Ramezani Bonesh with additional commentary by Chris Devonshire-Ellis Tajikistan is one of the smaller Central Asian nations, yet bordering China has a key role to play within China’s reach West. In this article we examine the BRI from the Tajikistan perspective, look at development trends and the opportunities resulting from the countries participation[…..]
Relations between China and Russia are currently determining the economic, political and trade and investment sectors of the two countries, as well as impacting the entire Eurasian continent. Of concern to the West is that this current cooperation model has no peers in world practice. Cooperation is carried out according to the model of relations[…..]
By Chris Devonshire-Ellis The Belarus President, Alexander Lukashenko is visiting Beijing on a State visit this Tuesday and Wednesday (February 28 / March 1) where all Western media eyes will be concentrating on the Ukraine issue. Belarus has very strong relations with Russia and borders Ukraine to the south, where joint Belarus/Russian military deployments are[…..]
Turkmenistan and Bahrain have signed an MoU and several other agreements related to rail connectivity and other economic and trade development initiatives. The move is significant as Turkmenistan is part of the INSTC Caspian Sea – Central Asian route, while Bahrain is sited west of Qatar and offers access to the Middle East. Routes between[…..]
Iraq’s Central bank said today (Wednesday February 22) it has planned to allow trade from China to be settled directly in RMB Yuan for the first time, in an attempt to improve access to foreign currency. The Central bank has been taking urgent steps to compensate for a dollar shortage in local markets, which prompted[…..]