Rail Freight Use on China’s Iron Silk Road Underdelivers
November 13th, 2020
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 »Eight African Belt And Road Initiative Projects That Global Investors Should Be Aware Of
October 31st, 2020
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 »How China Can Tighten Its Belt and Road Initiative In Central Asia
October 18th, 2020
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 »The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s Return to the Shadows
October 16th, 2020
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 […]
Read more »Beijing Ramps Up Investment Push In Pakistan, Afghanistan, Despite Risks
October 5th, 2020
Via Radio Free Europe, an article on China’s investment activity in Pakistan and Afghanistan: China is cautiously increasing its role in South Asia by rejuvenating economic interests in Pakistan and forging closer ties to Afghanistan with peace talks between Afghan officials and the Taliban under way. The enhanced footprint for Beijing in the region comes […]
Read more »Gwadar: China’s Potential Strategic Strongpoint in Pakistan
October 3rd, 2020
Via the U.S. Naval War College, a detailed analysis of Gwadar: Gwadar is an inchoate “strategic strongpoint” in Pakistan that may one day serve as a major platform for China’s economic, diplomatic, and military interactions across the northern Indian Ocean region. As of August 2020, it is not a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) base, but […]
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.