China’s Railway Through Central Asia And To The Middle East: Waiting On Kyrgyzstan
December 18th, 2020
Via Silk Road Briefing, a report on the potential of a Central Asian railway: A long held dream along the Silk Road both old and new has been a railway that links China to Central Asia and the Middle East. Actually getting it done however is proving difficult: Kyrgyzstan lies in the middle. Anyone that […]
Read more »China’s Digital Silk Road Initiative: A Boon for Developing Countries or a Danger to Freedom?
December 17th, 2020
Via The Diplomat, commentary on China’s Digital Silk Road initiative: As part of China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing launched the Digital Silk Road (DSR) in 2015 with a loose mandate. It has since become a significant part of Beijing’s overall BRI strategy, under which China provides aid, political support, and other assistance to […]
Read more »Buckling Down: China Rethinks Xi’s ‘Project Of The Century’
December 16th, 2020
Courtesy of The Financial Times, an article on how Chinese overseas lending has fallen sharply amid a reassessment of the Belt and Road Initiative: It has not taken long for the wheels to come off the Belt and Road Initiative. As recently as May 2017, China’s leader Xi Jinping stood in Beijing before a hall of nearly 30 heads […]
Read more »India Gaining Foothold In Central Asia As Iran’s Chabahar Port Attracts New Foreign Partners
December 14th, 2020
Via Eurasian Times, an article on the Chabahar Port which is close to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port that is being developed by China as part of its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which links it to the Indian Ocean through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Chabahar port is back in the news as India, Uzbekistan, and Iran are […]
Read more »Lebanon’s Concrete Cartel
December 12th, 2020
Via Foreign Policy, a look at how business interests prevent Lebanon from rebuilding its infrastructure, government, and economy: Even after decades, the international community still has not quite figured out what makes Lebanese politicians tick. Potential donors focus on economic mismanagement and political will, but gloss over the shady commercial interests that keep sectarian leaders popular. […]
Read more »China’s Footprints in Kazakhstan’s Oil and Gas Industry
December 12th, 2020
Via The Diplomat, an article on Beijing’s pursuit of shifting its trade and energy dependencies from sea to land: In the long term, Kazakhstan is the most important partner for China’s strategic priority to shift trade and energy dependence from sea to land. Both sides are enthusiastic about deepening cooperation, especially in trade. But an overwhelming […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.