To Secure Exports To Europe, China Reconfigures Its Rail Links
April 7th, 2025
Via The Economist, a look at how China – to secure exports to Europe – is reconfiguring its rail links: China says its ties with Russia involve “back-to-back, shoulder-to-shoulder” co-operation. Yet when it comes to concerns about security for its growing exports to Europe, the People’s Republic would rather not depend on its best friend. Map: The Economist […]
Read more »Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Bury Soviet-Era Border Legacy With Landmark Treaty
March 13th, 2025
Via Havli, a report on the new agreement between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan that has set the stage for a major surge in trade and the promise of a new era of Central Asian unity: And so, with a few pen strokes, one of the Soviet Union’s most pernicious legacies – the tangled borders of Central […]
Read more »Critical Metals Key to Deepening South Korea-Kyrgyzstan Relations
December 3rd, 2024
Via The Diplomat, a report on growing relations between South Korea and Kyrgyzstan: Hours before he declared martial law in a shocking televised address, South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol held talks with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov. The two presidents agreed to elevate relations to a comprehensive partnership and vowed to deepen cooperation in trade, energy, mining, and other fields. Japarov’s state […]
Read more »Rare Earths and Rare Opportunities in Central Asia
October 29th, 2024
Via Geopolitical Futures, a look at Central Asia’s rare earths potential: Central Asia has become more geopolitically important lately – not just as the underbelly of its economically challenged and politically isolated neighbor, Russia, but also as a transit hub that links China to Europe and as a supplier of raw materials that will fuel […]
Read more »Can China’s Global South Strategy Achieve Its Objectives in Central Asia?
October 12th, 2024
Courtesy of The Diplomat, a report on China’s foreign policy toward Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan which has had contrasting results over the years: The notion of the Global South has been characterized as “an intellectually elusive but emotionally rich term.” The multifaceted term Global South can refer to over 120 countries. It is used to describe regions and nations suffering […]
Read more »Central Asia’s Energy Drive Spurs Regional Integration
August 19th, 2024
Via The Lowy Institute, an article on Central Asian efforts to be more closely integrated and less reliant on Russia: For decades, Russia, China, and the West have been vying for influence in Central Asia. But in spite of their ambitions to bolster their presence in this strategically important region, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and […]
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.