The Greater Caspian Region: A New Silk Road, With or Without A New Belt
March 7th, 2020
Via The Atlantic Council, an interesting look at Central Asia and the new Silk Road: With the signing of a US-Taliban peace agreement, now might be a good time to look ahead to how Afghanistan might strengthen its economic connectivity with both its neighbors and more distant markets. Now, there will be a 135-day period of […]
Read more »China’s Belt and Road Detours Downstream in Myanmar
February 23rd, 2020
Via The Asia Times, a report that China is looking to the Irrawaddy River as alternative trade route as its high-speed rail plan stalls: Ethnic wars, security concerns and official foot-dragging have all conspired to stall China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) plan to build a high-speed railroad from its southwest down through Myanmar’s volatile northern […]
Read more »U.S. Faces Tough ‘Great Game’ Against China in Central Asia and Beyond
February 14th, 2020
Via The New York Times, commentary on how the Trump administration sees former Soviet republics in the heart of Asia as critical battlegrounds in the struggle with China over global influence: Inside the ancient walls of the Silk Road oasis town of Khiva, China has put down a marker of its geopolitical ambitions. A sign promotes a […]
Read more »Afghan Transit Cargo: Game Changer For Gwadar Port
February 2nd, 2020
Via Lowy Interpreter, commentary on how Gwadar – the Chinese-run port in Pakistan – may have found a path to success: On a sunny Tuesday in the third week of January, a cargo ship named Diyala docked at Gwadar seaport, in south-west Pakistan. The enthusiastic port staff quickly unloaded the cargo. When the unloading was finished, Chinese […]
Read more »Is China’s Belt And Road Already In Retreat?
January 30th, 2020
Via Forbes, an article on China’s BRI: When I first began traveling the corridors of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the spring of 2015, there was an almost ubiquitous sentiment of hope and excitement across the network. I would be paraded out to look at massive nascent logistics and industrial zones, new cities […]
Read more »China Renews Its ‘Belt and Road’ Push for Global Sway
January 20th, 2020
Courtesy of The New York Times, an interesting article on how deals by Chinese companies to build ports, telecom networks and other infrastructure in poor countries have picked up, alarming some in the West: China’s big-money push to build ports, rail lines and telecommunications networks around the world — and increase Beijing’s political sway in […]
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.