02/03/2020
DUSHANBE, March 1 (Xinhua) — Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on Sunday met here with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, with both sides reaffirming commitments to strengthening ties.
During the meeting, Yang recalled that last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Rahmon agreed to jointly build the China-Tajikistan development community and security community, outlining a new blueprint for developing relations between the two countries, which he noted are good neighbors, friends, partners and brothers.
China is willing to work with Tajikistan to implement the consensus reached between the two heads of state, unswervingly support each other, deepen practical cooperation, safeguard common security and strengthen communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, Yang said.
Over the past years, the two sides have seen fruits yielded in their jointly building the Belt and Road, and they should further synergize development strategies, elevate cooperation, and enhance people-to-people exchanges to further benefit the two countries and peoples, Yang said.
Yang briefed the Tajik president on the progress China has made in its all-out fight against the novel coronavirus under Xi’s leadership, as well as on the anti-virus measures adopted in tandem with those aimed at promoting economic and social development.
China thanks Tajikistan for sending medical equipment to assist its anti-virus efforts, Yang said, adding that China will continue working with countries including Tajikistan in fighting the coronavirus and safeguarding regional and global public health security.
For his part, Rahmon spoke highly of China’s anti-virus fight. The Chinese people will definitely defeat the virus under President Xi’s leadership, he said.
Rahmon said Tajikistan considers it as a foreign policy priority to develop relations with China, which is a close neighbour and reliable strategic partner of Tajikistan.
Tajikistan is willing to well implement the key Belt and Road cooperation projects, deepen security cooperation between the two countries and people-to-people exchanges, so as to inject new impetus into the development of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.
Also on Sunday, Yang met with Tajik Deputy Prime Minister Azim Ibrohim.
Source: Xinhua
Posted in Belt and Road cooperation projects, China-Tajikistan development community, Chinese President Xi Jinping, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, President Rahmon, Tajikistan, Uncategorized, Yang Jiechi |
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09/12/2019
URUMQI, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) — Rich in resources but remote, Xinjiang in China’s far west has become a magnet for investors for its unique position on the Silk Road.
In a workshop of the Amer International Group in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, workers are busy adjusting and packing laptops.
Recently, Amer sent the first batch of 2,000 laptops it produced for the German company TrekStor to the European market via China-Europe freight trains.
Headquartered in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, Amer invested 20 billion yuan (around 2.8 billion U.S. dollars) to build an industrial park in Xinjiang in 2018. So far, the industrial park has produced and exported around 1.5 million mobile phones, according to Wang Wenyin, the founder and chairman of Amer International Group.
“We saw Xinjiang’s geographical advantages, so we established the industrial park and cooperated with our counterparts in South and Central Asia in the fields of smartphones and IT high-end manufacturing,” Wang said.
Amer International Group is among a growing number of enterprises that have been attracted by Xinjiang in recent years, as trains and planes have made Xinjiang better connected than ever before.
As China’s key trade gateway to Central and West Asia, the remote region’s position as the heart of the Belt and Road Initiative is unmistakable. In 2013, China proposed the BRI, which opened up new space for the world economy, spurring trade and economic growth and stimulating investment and creating jobs worldwide.
Urumqi Customs saw the number of China-Europe freight trains skyrocket to 5,743 in the first 10 months this year, up 53.68 percent year on year, outnumbering the total of 2018.
To attract more investors, the local government has gone to great lengths creating a more friendly business environment, such as cutting the time required for starting a business and lowering the entry threshold for products.
Up to now, Xinjiang has had more than 1.8 million market entities including 359,000 enterprises, up 18 percent year on year.
Foreign and domestic business giants including German chemical giant BASF and China’s real estate conglomerates Wanda Group have also invested in the region.
Lai Naixiang, head of Kashgar Oumeisheng Energy Technology, a home appliance manufacturer, moved his business from Shenzhen to Kashgar in southern Xinjiang in 2017.
“We chose to settle in Kashgar because of the great market potential in adjacent Central Asian countries as well as Xinjiang’s lower electricity prices and preferential tax policy,” he said.
Last year, the company exported electric kettles worth more than 16 million yuan to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Foreign trade in Xinjiang has seen booming growth. The region recorded around 131.5 billion yuan in imports and exports in the first 10 months of this year, up 28 percent year on year.
In the first 10 months, Kazakhstan topped the list of Xinjiang’s major trade partners, with trade volume between the two growing by 28.2 percent to 60.2 billion yuan.
Xinjiang’s trade with Kyrgyzstan, Australia, Pakistan, Britain, Argentina and Vietnam also showed fast growth, according to the local customs authorities.
“With further Belt and Road construction, Xinjiang will get more impetus in economic and social development. I see great potential in the region,” Wang said.
Source: Xnhua
Posted in Amer International Group, Argentina, Australia, Ürümqi, BASF, Belt and Road (B&R), Belt and Road construction, Belt and Road Initiative, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Britain, chemical giant, China-Europe freight trains, economic and social development, emerging, German, home appliance, hotspot, Investment, Kashgar, Kashgar Oumeisheng Energy Technology, Kyrgyzstan, manufacturer, Pakistan, real estate, Shenzhen, Silk Road, Tajikistan, TrekStor, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Wanda Group, Xinjiang |
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25/08/2019
- A recent joint exercise in Tajikistan is the latest example of Beijing’s growing security and economic interests in the former Soviet republic
- Analysts say Moscow may not be happy about China’s growing reach in the lawless, mountainous area and will be keeping an eye on the situation
Chinese and Tajik troops completed a joint exercise earlier this month in the mountainous region of Gorno-Badakhshan. Photo: Xinhua
China is increasing its military and economic presence in parts of central Asia that Russia has traditionally considered its sphere of influence – a development some analysts believe could cause concern in Moscow.
While Russia’s influence remains strong in many former Soviet republics, China is steadily building up its military and economic influence in Tajikistan, particularly in the remote, mountainous areas on its western borders where central government authority is weak.
Chinese troops recently concluded a joint drill in eastern Tajikistan involving 1,200 troops from both countries.
The eight-day exercise that finished on August 13 was conducted in the autonomous Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region, a sparsely populated territory in the high Pamir mountains, which borders China’s Xinjiang region and Afghanistan.
China has been increasing its security presence in the strategically sensitive region. Photo: Xinhua
Although this year’s exercise involved fewer troops than the 10,000 involved in a previous drill three years ago, it tested the use of advanced aerial vehicles and ground reconnaissance technology to monitor the area.
The landlocked country is strategically important for China, which is worried that the porous borders will serve as an entry point for drugs and Islamic militants into Xinjiang, where its deradicalisation strategy has led to the detention of a million Muslim minorities in reeducation camps.
It also sits along the trade routes China hopes to develop under the Belt and Road Initiative – Beijing’s flagship plan to expand its global influence through infrastructure, trade and investment – but the area has long been plagued by lawlessness and outbreaks of violence.
The recent exercise tested aerial surveillance techniques. Photo: Xinhua
Artyom Lukin, a professor of international politics at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, said Russia was not happy about the deployment of Chinese forces in Tajikistan.
“Russia has traditionally considered Central Asia, including Tajikistan, as its sphere of political-military influence,” he said.
Observers said other Central Asian republics – such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan – are likely to stay within Moscow’s orbit, but China is steadily building closer security ties with Tajikistan.
In February, China’s defence ministry denied that it was building a base and stationing troops in the country, but defended its closer military cooperation with Tajikistan.
The recent training exercise was conducted in an area Russia has long seen as part of its sphere of influence. Photo: Xinhua
China has long-standing security interests in the country and in 2016 it agreed to finance 11 border outposts and a training centre for guards along the Afghan border.
This was part of a deal Beijing made through the Quadrilateral Cooperation and Coordination Mechanism – which also involves Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan – to strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism and improving security.
China has also overtaken Russia economically, becoming the largest foreign investor in Tajikistan in 2016, accounting for 30 per cent of Tajikistan’s total direct accumulated investments, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Banned Muslim political party blamed for deadly attack on tourists in Tajikistan
China’s direct investment in Tajikistan was worth US$95 million in 2017, according to the latest available figures. China has also grown to become the country’s third largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching around US$1.5 billion in 2018.
A recent opinion piece published by the Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik suggested China may be “getting carried away” by its investments in the region.
The article suggested that China’s growing presence in the country could lead to a “partial loss” of Tajikistan’s sovereignty and argued that Beijing may want to take control of the border with Afghanistan.
China also has economic interests to protect. Photo: Xinhua
But Lukin said even though this growing involvement may be an irritant for Russia, the strategic partnership between China and Russia will remain strong.
The two countries remain the key players in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, an economic and security alliance that includes the Central Asian republics and India and Pakistan.
The two are also keen to cooperate more closely due to their tense relationship with the United States. This year Russian and Chinese armed forces have stepped up their cooperation, and last week used a UN Security Council debate to criticise the US for pulling out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Washington defended the move as necessary response to Beijing and Moscow’s build up of arms.
Why Chinese investors are struggling to gain a foothold in Tajikistan
Lukin said: “Moscow no doubt understands that in terms of security, Tajikistan’s border, adjacent to China’s Xinjiang and Afghanistan, is truly a vital concern for Beijing.
“The presence of Chinese troops could actually benefit Russia, because it will be China bearing the costs of policing Tajikistan’s mountainous border areas.”
Stephen Blank, a former professor at the US Army War College and a specialist in Eurasian security, said that while Russia has mostly stayed silent about China’s presence in Tajikistan, it was closely watching the situation.
“What happens in the long run depends on how far China goes to extend its military presence in Central Asia. And if it keeps extending, it may well provoke some expression of concern in Russia beyond the silence that has hitherto been the case,” Blank said.
Chinese troops could play an increasing role in policing the area in future. Photo: Xinhua
“[The recent drills] look like conventional war-fighting exercises as much as anti-terrorist operations and suggest that China may have bigger contingencies than anti-terrorism in mind.”
Mathieu Duchatel, director of the Asia programme at the Institut Montaigne, a French think tank, said both Russia and China share similar concerns about terrorism and drug trafficking in Central Asia.
He said Russia had not objected to the security pact with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan because there are more important strategic priorities in China-Russia relations.
“Overall, Russia’s acceptance of a security role for China in Central Asia shows how Russia realistically adjusts to the changing balance of power with China, and is able to avoid a zero-sum game on issues where parallel efforts by China and Russia can serve Russian security interests,” he said.
Source: SCMP
Posted in aerial surveillance techniques, aerial vehicles, Afghan border, Afghanistan, backyard, Beijing, Belt and Road Initiative, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Central Asia, Central Asian, Central Asian republics, China alert, China-Russia relations, Chinese armed forces, combating terrorism, drug trafficking, former, French think tank, Gorno-Badakhshan, ground reconnaissance technology, improving security, increases, India alert, Infrastructure, Institut Montaigne, Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Investment, Islamic militants, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, lawlessness, Moscow, Muslim minorities, outbreaks of violence, Pakistan, Pamir Mountains, presence, Quadrilateral Cooperation and Coordination Mechanism, reeducation camps, Russia, Russian armed forces, security and economic interests, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Soviet republic, Tajikistan, terrorism, Trade, UN Security Council debate, Uncategorized, United States, US Army War College, Uzbekistan, Washington, Xinjiang, zero-sum game |
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10/08/2019
BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has led new advances in the development of major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.
Xi had a packed diplomatic schedule in the first half of 2019. In April-May, he chaired or attended three events China hosted in a row in just more than half a month. In June, he made four overseas visits and attended four important international meetings in a month.
Amid immense changes in the international situation, the head-of-state diplomacy has led the way forward.
FORGING GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP NETWORK
Xi made his first overseas visit this year in March to three European countries: Italy, Monaco and France, injecting strong impetus into the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership.
Major-country relations continued to grow. In June, Xi paid a state visit to Russia where he and Russian President Vladimir Putin elevated the China-Russia ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era. It was Xi’s eighth visit to Russia and his 31st meeting with Putin since he took office as the Chinese president in 2013.
Friendly exchanges with neighboring countries were deepened. In June, he paid a state visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), opening a new chapter for China-DPRK friendship. Also in June, Xi visited Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the Japanese city of Osaka. All in all, Xi met or held talks with more than 30 leaders of neighboring countries in the first half of the year.
Common progress with the vast majority of developing countries was advanced. Xi congratulated the inauguration of the China-Africa Institute, the opening of the Coordinators’ Meeting on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on the China-Africa Cooperation, and the first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo.
Xi also chaired a China-Africa leaders’ meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, at which leaders reached a broad consensus on a range of issues.
LEADING GLOBAL OPENNESS, COOPERATION
Xi has said a few anti-globalization movements that have emerged in the world cannot stop the tide of globalization.
Thinking in big-picture terms, a Chinese poem says, helps one dispel the clouds to see the sun.
At the G20 summit in Osaka, Xi announced China’s further opening-up measures which have since strengthened the confidence of the global economy.
On the sidelines of the G20 summit, Xi met with U.S. President Donald Trump. They agreed to advance a China-U.S. relationship featuring coordination, cooperation and stability.
China is playing a more positive role in the multilateral trading system, taking globalization toward the direction of more inclusiveness and benefit for all, said World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevedo.
Meanwhile, the China-proposed principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits is gaining worldwide recognition.
In April, the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was attended by about 6,000 participants from 150 countries and 92 international organizations.
A study published by the World Bank found that fully implementing deeper policy reforms of the Belt and Road Initiative would lift 32 million people out of moderate poverty, increase global trade by up to 6.2 percent and increase global income by as much as 2.9 percent.
WORKING TOGETHER FOR BETTER FUTURE
The Chinese president has called on countries around the world to make concerted efforts and jointly shape the future of humanity.
In various occasions ranging from the global governance forum co-hosted by China and France to the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, Xi put forward China’s approaches on global governance and encouraged all parties to build consensus on upholding multilateralism.
China has been committed to firmly upholding the international system with the United Nations at its core and international law as its foundation, and standing on the side of justice as China plays an active role in endeavors such as advancing the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue and supporting maintaining the Iran nuclear deal.
China has become a strong pillar of international cooperation and multilateralism, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
At the three events China hosted in the first half of the year, Xi expounded on the concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity from different perspectives: help developing countries break growth bottlenecks, tackle environmental challenges and look to culture and civilization to play their role.
All won broad recognition.
Under Xi’s leadership, the major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics is sailing towards a brighter future.
Source: Xinhua
Posted in anti-globalization movements, Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China-Africa cooperation, China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, China-Africa Institute, China-DPRK friendship, China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, China-Russia ties, China-U.S. relationship, comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, consensus, cooperation, coordination, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), France, G20 summit, Global governance, globalization, head-of-state diplomacy, Iran nuclear deal, Italy, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Korean Peninsula issue, Kyrgyzstan, major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, Monaco, multilateralism, new ground, Osaka, President Xi Jinping, Russia, russian president vladimir putin, stability, Tajikistan, U.S. President Donald Trump, UN Secretary-General, Uncategorized, United Nations, World Bank, World Trade Organization (WTO) |
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27/07/2019
GENEVA, July 27 (Xinhua) — Ambassadors from 50 countries to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) have co-signed a letter to the President of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to voice their support for China’s position on issues related to its Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Earlier on July 12, a number of ambassadors in Geneva sent the joint letter to show their support for China, and as of Friday evening, more ambassadors had joined, the Chinese Mission to the UNOG revealed.
In a statement issued on Friday night, the Chinese mission said that some other countries had also expressed their support in separate letters or press statements.
In the joint letter, the ambassadors commend China for its economic and social progress, effective counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures, and strong guarantee of human rights.
They appreciate the opportunities provided by China for diplomatic envoys, officials of international organizations, and media professionals to visit Xinjiang, and point to the contrast between Xinjiang in the eyes of those who have visited it and the one portrayed by some western media.
The ambassadors also urge a certain group of countries to stop using uncorroborated information to make unfounded accusations against China.
“I was surprised that some people call these vocational training and education centers concentration or internment camps,” Vadim Pisarevich, deputy permanent representative of Belarus to the UNOG, told Xinhua.
“They’re nothing of the kind. They look like ordinary educational facilities and even I said that they are more than this because they provide life skills training to the students,” Pisarevich said.
They are “very useful institutions for addressing the problems of terrorism, extremism and separatism,” he said.
“Terrorism and extremism are an intractable challenge across the world. In the face of its grave threat, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region responded with a number of lawful steps, including setting up vocational education and training centers, to prevent and combat terrorism and extremism,” the Chinese Mission to the UNOG said in its statement.
“Facts speak louder than words, and justice cannot be overshadowed. The great diversity of countries co-signing the letter — from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, especially the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) — makes it clear that the international community has drawn a fair conclusion about Xinjiang’s human rights achievement and counter-terrorism and de-radicalization outcome,” the statement said.
“Those that seek to use human rights as an excuse to slander and pressure China have only themselves to deceive,” it added.
“We oppose any attempt to use human rights issues as a cover for interference in a country’s internal affairs. We urge those who are doing so to change course, refrain from politicization and double standards, and stop interfering in the internal affairs of other countries under the pretext of human rights,” it said.
At a press conference on Friday, China’s Ambassador to the UNOG Chen Xu also rebuked some Western nations for slandering China over Xinjiang, noting that China doesn’t accept these “groundless accusations.”
Jamshed Khamidov, head of Tajikistan’s mission in Geneva, said his government opposes any attempts to use the Human Rights Council for particular political purposes, and efforts should be made to avoid any politicization of the Human Rights Council.
“We know the situation in the Xinjiang region. We know how much the government of China is doing … and what kind of measures were implemented in this region to support its peace, security and development,” he said.
In visits to the vocational training and education centers in Xinjiang’s Urumqi and Kashi, Zenon Mukongo Ngay, head of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mission in Geneva, said he was impressed with the “level of development” in Xinjiang and how the people in the centers receive education for getting a job.
The Chinese mission also said that together with all parties, China is committed to promoting the healthy development of the international human rights cause by encouraging multilateral human rights institutions to stick to the purpose and principles of the UN Charter, handle human rights issues in an objective, impartial and non-selective manner, and engage in constructive dialogues and cooperation.
Source: Xinhua
Posted in 50 countries, africa, ambassadors, Asia, Ürümqi, China's position, Democratic Republic of Congo, Europe, extremism, Geneva, High Commissioner for Human Rights, human rights issues, Kashi, Latin America, OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation), President of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), support, Tajikistan, terrorism, U.N. Human Rights Council, UN Charter, Uncategorized, United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region |
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08/07/2019
- Settlements along the route linking Europe and Asia thrived by providing accommodation and services for countless traders
- Formally established during the Han dynasty, it was a 19th-century German geographer who coined the term Silk Road
The ruins of a fortified gatehouse and customs post at Yunmenguan Pass, in China’s Gansu province. Photo: Alamy
We have a German geographer, cartographer and explorer to thank for the name of the world’s most famous network of transcontinental trade routes.
Formally established during the Han dynasty, in the first and second centuries BC, it wasn’t until 1877 that Ferdinand von Richthofen coined the term Silk Road (historians increasingly favour the collective term Silk Routes).
The movement of merchandise between China and Europe had been taking place long before the Han arrived on the scene but it was they who employed troops to keep the roads safe from marauding nomads.
Commerce flourished and goods as varied as carpets and camels, glassware and gold, spices and slaves were traded; as were horses, weapons and armour.
Merchants also moved medicines but they were no match for the bubonic plague, which worked its way west along the Silk Road before devastating huge swathes of 14th century Europe.
What follows are some of the countless kingdoms, territories, (modern-day) nations and cities that grew rich on the proceeds of trade, taxes and tolls.
China
A watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang, a desert outpost at the crossroads of two major Silk Road routes in China’s northwestern Gansu province. Photo: Alamy
Marco Polo worked in the Mongol capital, Khanbaliq (today’s Beijing), and was struck by the level of mercantile activity.
The Venetian gap-year pioneer wrote, “Every day more than a thousand carts loaded with silk enter the city, for a great deal of cloth of gold and silk is woven here.”
Light, easy to transport items such as paper and tea provided Silk Road traders with rich pickings, but it was China’s monopoly on the luxurious shimmering fabric that guaranteed huge profits.
So much so that sneaking silk worms out of the empire was punishable by death.
The desert outpost of Dunhuang found itself at the crossroads of two major Silk Road trade arteries, one leading west through the Pamir Mountains to Central Asia and another south to India.
Built into the Great Wall at nearby Yunmenguan are the ruins of a fortified gatehouse and customs post, which controlled the movement of Silk Road caravans.
Also near Dunhuang, the Mogao Caves contain one of the richest collections of Buddhist art treasures anywhere in the world, a legacy of the route to and from the subcontinent.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s mountainous terrain was an inescapable part of the Silk Road, until maritime technologies would become the area’s undoing. Photo: Shutterstock
For merchants and middlemen hauling goods through Central Asia, there was no way of bypassing the mountainous lands we know today as Afghanistan.
Evidence of trade can be traced back to long before the Silk Road – locally mined lapis lazuli stones somehow found their way to ancient Egypt, and into Tutankhamun’s funeral mask, created in 1323BC.
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Besides mercantile exchange, the caravan routes were responsible for the sharing of ideas and Afghanistan was a major beneficiary. Art, philosophy, language, science, food, architecture and technology were all exchanged, along with commercial goods.
In fact, maritime technology would eventually be the area’s undoing. By the 15th century, it had become cheaper and more convenient to transport cargo by sea – a far from ideal development for a landlocked region.
Iran
The Ganjali Khan Complex, in Iran. Photo: Shutterstock
Thanks to the Silk Road and the routes that preceded it, the northern Mesopotamian region (present-day Iran) became China’s closest trading partner. Traders rarely journeyed the entire length of the trail, however.
Merchandise was passed along by middlemen who each travelled part of the way and overnighted in caravanserai, fortified inns that provided accommodation, storerooms for goods and space for pack animals.
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With so many wheeler-dealers gathering in one place, the hostelries developed into ad hoc marketplaces.
Marco Polo writes of the Persian kingdom of Kerman, where craftsmen made saddles, bridles, spurs and “arms of every kind”.
Today, in the centre of Kerman, the former caravanserai building forms part of the Ganjali Khan Complex, which incorporates a bazaar, bathhouse and mosque.
Uzbekistan
A fort in Khiva, Uzbekistan. Photo: Alamy
The double-landlocked country boasts some of the Silk Road’s most fabled destinations. Forts, such as the one still standing at Khiva, were built to protect traders from bandits; in fact, the city is so well-preserved, it is known as the Museum under the Sky.
The name Samarkand is also deeply entangled with the history of the Silk Road.
The earliest evidence of silk being used outside China can be traced to Bactria, now part of modern Uzbekistan, where four graves from around 1500BC-1200BC contained skeletons wrapped in garments made from the fabric.
Three thousand years later, silk weaving and the production and trade of textiles remain one of Samarkand’s major industries.
Georgia
A street in old town of Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo: Alamy
Security issues in Persia led to the opening up of another branch of the legendary trade route and the first caravan loaded with silk made its way across Georgia in AD568.
Marco Polo referred to the weaving of raw silk in “a very large and fine city called Tbilisi”.
Today, the capital has shaken off the Soviet shackles and is on the cusp of going viral.
Travellers lap up the city’s monasteries, walled fortresses and 1,000-year-old churches before heading up the Georgian Military Highway to stay in villages nestling in the soaring Caucasus Mountains.
Public minibuses known as marshrutka labour into the foothills and although the vehicles can get cramped and uncomfortable, they beat travelling by camel.
Jordan
Petra, in Jordan. Photo: Alamy
The location of the Nabataean capital, Petra, wasn’t chosen by chance.
Savvy nomadic herders realised the site would make the perfect pit-stop at the confluence of several caravan trails, including a route to the north through Palmyra (in modern-day Syria), the Arabian peninsula to the south and Mediterranean ports to the west.
Huge payments in the form of taxes and protection money were collected – no wonder the most magnificent of the sandstone city’s hand-carved buildings is called the Treasury.
The Red Rose City is still a gold mine – today’s tourists pay a hefty
. The Nabataeans would no doubt approve.
Venice
Tourists crowd onto Venice’s Rialto Bridge. Photo: Alamy
Trade enriched Venice beyond measure, helping shape the Adriatic entrepot into the floating marvel we see today.
Besides the well-documented flow of goods heading west, consignments of cotton, ivory, animal furs, grapevines and other goods passed through the strategically sited port on their way east.
Ironically, for a city built on trade and taxes, the biggest problem Venice faces today is visitors who don’t contribute enough to the local economy.
A lack of spending by millions of day-tripping tourists and cruise passengers who aren’t liable for nightly hotel taxes has prompted authorities to introduce a citywide access fee from January 2020.
Two thousand years ago, tariffs and tolls helped Venice develop and prosper. Now they’re needed to prevent its demise.
Source: SCMP
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15/06/2019
Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) is warmly received by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon upon his arrival at the airport in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, June 14, 2019. Xi arrived here Friday for the fifth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and a state visit to Tajikistan. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)
DUSHANBE, June 14 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here Friday for the fifth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and a state visit to Tajikistan.
Xi was warmly received by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon at the airport.
The two heads of state had a cordial talk. Xi thanked Rahmon for meeting him in person at the airport and conveyed to the Tajik government and people sincere greetings on behalf of the Chinese government and people.
As good neighbours, friends and brothers, China and Tajikistan have maintained sound and steady development in relations ever since they forged diplomatic ties 27 years ago, he said.
Xi said he and Rahmon decided to establish the China-Tajikistan comprehensive strategic partnership in 2017, which has ushered bilateral relations into a new phase of rapid development.
“My visit this time aims to push bilateral ties to an even higher level,” he said. “I look forward to having in-depth communication with my old friend President Rahmon, and jointly outlining the beautiful blueprint of China-Tajikistan relations.”
He pledged China’s willingness to work with Tajikistan to further promote bilateral ties and cooperation in various fields to bring more benefits to both peoples.
The Dushanbe summit bears great significance to the development of the CICA, where all sides will discuss the mechanism’s future development and decide on priorities for cooperation, Xi said, praising Tajikistan’s efforts in preparing for the event and expressing belief in its success.
Recalling Xi’s visit to Tajikistan five years ago, Rahmon extended a warm welcome to the Chinese leader for the state visit and his participation in the CICA summit.
Rahmon wished the visit a complete success and better and faster development of bilateral ties.
Tajikistan is the second leg of Xi’s two-country Central Asia trip, which also took him to Kyrgyzstan for a state visit and the 19th Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.
Source: Xinhua
Posted in Central Asia trip, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Dushanbe, Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Tajikistan, Uncategorized |
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13/06/2019
- Findings support earliest record of cannabis use, written in 440BC
- Researchers speculate psychoactive THC had role in grim funeral rites
Researchers say their findings at a burial site in Xinjiang about cannabis use 2,500 years ago back up a Greek record written around 440BC. Photo: Handout
Scientists say a burial site in mountainous northwestern China contains evidence that cannabis smoke was used there as far back as 2,500 years ago, corroborating the earliest record of the practice, written by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus.
They said the evidence was found in a wooden bowl containing blackened stones unearthed at a Scythian cemetery in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Chemical analysis showed traces of THC – tetrahydrocannabinol – the potent psychoactive component in cannabis.
Yang Yimin, lead author of a paper published in the journal Science Advances on Thursday, said the discovery at Jirzankal Cemetery, close to the border of Tajikistan, Pakistan and India, was “jaw-dropping”.
Scythians were horseback warriors who roamed from the Black Sea across central Asia and into western China more than 2,000 years ago. Herodotus wrote in The Histories around 440BC that they used marijuana, the earliest written record of the practice.
Scientists in Xinjiang found hemp had been burned on stones inside these wooden bowls 2,500 years ago. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences and Max Planck Institute
“The Scythians take the seed of this hemp and … they throw it on the red-hot stones. It smoulders and sends forth so much steam that no Greek vapour-bath could surpass it.
The Scythians howl in their joy at the vapour-bath,” Herodotus wrote.
Yang, who led an international team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany and the University of Queensland, said that until now there was no evidence to back up the Greek historian’s account.
“There was never any archaeological proof to the claim. We thought – is this it?” Yang said.
The discovery posed a question for the research team: where would the plants have come from? While hemp was commonly found in many parts of the world and was used for fabric, cooking and medicine, most wild species contained only small amounts of THC.
Ruins of 2,000-year-old coin workshop found in central China’s Henan province
Yang and his colleagues speculated that the altitude, 3,000 metres (9,843 feet) above sea level, and strong ultraviolet radiation might have resulted in a potent plant strain with THC levels similar to those in marijuana today.
“From here it was selected, probably domesticated and then went to other parts of the world along ancient trade routes with the Scythian nomads, forming an enormous ring of culture that shared the ritual of smoking cannabis,” Yang said.
Archaeologists said the site, with its 40 circular mounds and marked by long strips of black and white stones, could have been a burial ground for tribal members, with human sacrifice and cannabis part of the last rites.
Researchers suspect a potent strain of cannabis grew close to the Xinjiang burial site. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences and Max Planck Institute
So the early pot party might not have been the kind of celebration Herodotus described, the study’s authors suggested.
While the Scythians might have been inhaling the smoke to try to communicate with the dead in the next world, evidence suggested that a sacrifice – perhaps a war captive or a slave – was struck repeatedly on the head with a sword and the body hacked to pieces nearby, the researchers said.
Source: SCMP
Posted in cannabis, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese scientists, evidence, first stoners, found, Germany, graveyard, Greek record, grim funeral rites, hemp, Henan province, Herodotus, human sacrifice, India alert, Jirzankal Cemetery, marijuana, Max Planck Institute, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Pakistan, psychoactive THC, Science Advances, Scythians, Tajikistan, tetrahydrocannabinol, ultraviolet radiation, Uncategorized, University of Queensland, vapour-bath, Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region |
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12/06/2019
BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing on Wednesday afternoon for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
At the invitation of Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, Xi will pay a state visit to Kyrgyzstan and attend the 19th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan.
At the invitation of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Xi will attend the fifth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, and pay a state visit to the country.
Xi’s entourage includes Ding Xuexiang, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee; Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee; State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi; and He Lifeng, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and head of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Source: Xinhua
Posted in Beijing, Bishkek, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Dushanbe, Emomali Rahmon, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, General Office of the CPC Central Committee, He Lifeng, Kyrgyz President, Kyrgyzstan, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), National Development and Reform Commission, Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, Sooronbay Jeenbekov, State Councilor, Tajik President, Tajikistan, Uncategorized, vice chairman |
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29/05/2019
- President Xi Jinping will meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next month and address economic summit in St Petersburg
- Diplomatic flurry will also include regional security forums in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
Xi Jinping has met Vladimir Putin more times than any other foreign leader since he took power in 2013. Photo: AFP
Beijing is stepping up efforts to seek support from regional and global players such as Russia and Central Asian nations as its geostrategic rivalry with Washington heats up.
President Xi Jinping is expected to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next month, when he will also address the St Petersburg International Economic Summit,
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told state-run TASS news agency earlier.
The Chinese president will also visit the Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in June, as well as another regional security forum in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, Vice-President Wang Qishan is visiting Pakistan before he heads to the Netherlands and Germany, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan meets Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan in Islamabad on Sunday. Photo: AFP
The latest flurry of diplomatic activity comes as competition between China and the US intensifies on several fronts including trade and technology, the South China Sea and the Arctic, where Beijing’s partnership with Moscow –
– has drawn criticism from Washington.
It will be Xi’s second time at the St Petersburg forum, and observers expect the Chinese leader will reaffirm Beijing’s commitment to multilateralism and promote the nation as a champion of openness and cooperation.
China-Russia ties unrivalled, Beijing warns before Pompeo meets Putin
It will also be his second meeting with Putin in two months, after talks on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in late April, when the Russian president
for the controversial China-led infrastructure and investment initiative.
With China and Russia edging closer, the latest meeting is likely to see efforts to coordinate their strategies on a range of issues – including Venezuela, North Korea, nuclear weapons and arms control, according to observers. Xi has met Putin more times than any other foreign leader since he took power in 2013.
“This time it is very likely that the latest anti-China moves by the US, such as new tariffs and the Huawei ban, will feature prominently in their conversations,” said Artyom Lukin, an associate professor at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok.
Lukin said Russia’s stagnating economy and sanctions imposed by the West limited its role as a substitute for the foreign markets and technologies China could lose access to because of the US crusade. But he said Putin would “provide political and moral support to Xi”.
“That is also significant as Russia has been withstanding intense US-led sanctions pressure for more than five years already,” Lukin said, referring to sanctions imposed after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Xi and Putin are also expected to talk about Venezuela, where US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido is attempting to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro, who has the support of China and Russia.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has the backing of China and Russia. Photo: AP
“Moscow and Beijing are not able to seriously hurt Washington by raising tariffs or denying access to high technology. However, there are plenty of areas where coordinated Sino-Russian policies can damage US interests in the short term or in the long run,” Lukin said. “For example, Moscow and Beijing could intensify their joint support for the Venezuelan government of Nicolas Maduro, frustrating Washington’s efforts to dislodge him.”
China and Russia would also be seeking to boost economic ties. Bilateral trade, dominated by Chinese imports of gas and oil, reached US$108 billion last year – falling far short of the target set in 2011 by Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao, of US$200 billion by 2020.
China and Russia to forge stronger Eurasian economic ties
Li Lifan, an associate research professor at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said bilateral trade was a sticking point. “This is one of the potential hindrances in China-Russia relations and Beijing is hoping to [address this] … in the face of a possible global economic slowdown,” Li said.
Given the escalating trade war with Washington, he said China would seek to diversify its investments and markets to other parts of the world, particularly Russia and Europe.
“China will step up its investment cooperation with Europe and Russia and focus more on multilateral investment,” Li said.
But Beijing was not expected to do anything to worsen tensions with Washington.
“China is currently taking a very cautious approach towards the US, trying to avoid heating up the confrontation and further aggravation of the situation,” said Danil Bochkov, a contributing author with the Russian International Affairs Council. “For China it is important to demonstrate that it has a reliable friend – Russia – but that should not be done in an openly provocative manner.”
Stephen Blank, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, said Beijing and Moscow would also seek to contain US influence “as far as possible” from Central Asia, where China has increased its engagement through infrastructure building under the “Belt and Road Initiative”.
Leaders from the region will gather in Bishkek next month for the SCO summit, a security bloc set up in 2001 that now comprises China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. Those members account for about 23 per cent of the world’s land mass, 45 per cent of its population, and 25 per cent of global GDP.
Newly re-elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could meet the Chinese president for talks in Bishkek next month. Photo: EPA-EFE
There is growing speculation that Xi will meet newly re-elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of that summit.
Independent analyst and author Namrata Goswami said India would be seeking a commitment to a WTO-led and rules-based multilateral trading system during the SCO talks.
“This is interesting and significant given the current US tendencies under President Donald Trump focused on ‘America first’ and the US-China trade war,” Goswami said.
Counterterrorism will again be a top priority at the SCO summit, amid concerns among member states about the rising number of Islamic State fighters returning from Syria and Iraq. Chinese scholars estimated last year that around 30,000 jihadists who had fought in Syria had gone back to their home countries, including China.
Alexander Bortnikov, chief of the main Russian intelligence agency FSB, said earlier that 5,000 fighters from a group affiliated with Isis had gathered in areas bordering former Soviet states in Central Asia, saying most of them had fought alongside Isis in Syria.
War-torn Afghanistan, which shares a border with four SCO member states – China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – is also likely to be high on the agenda at the Bishkek summit.
“With the Trump administration drafting plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, the SCO will assess the security situation there and decide whether to provide training for Afghan troops,” Li said.
Eva Seiwert, a doctoral candidate at the Free University of Berlin, expected the security bloc would also discuss Iran after the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and ordered new sanctions against the country.
Iran, which has observer status with the SCO, was blocked from becoming a full member in 2008 because it was subject to UN sanctions at the time. But its membership application could again be up for discussion.
Iran presses China and Russia to save nuclear deal
“The Trump administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 made it easy for China and Russia to present themselves as the proponents of peaceful settlement of conflicts,” Seiwert said. “Discussing the possibility of admitting Iran as a full member state would help the SCO members demonstrate their support of multilateral and peaceful cooperation.
“This would be a strong signal to the US and enhance the SCO’s standing in the international community,” she said.
Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov (right) meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bishkek on Tuesday last week. Photo: Xinhua
As well as security, Xi’s visit to Central Asia is also likely to focus on economic ties. Meeting Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov in Bishkek last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing would continue to “provide support and help national development and construction in Kyrgyzstan”.
Li said China may increase investment in the Central Asian region, especially in greenfield projects.
“China will continue to buy agriculture products from Central Asia, such as cherries from Uzbekistan, and build hydropower projects to meet local energy demand,” Li said. “Investment in solar and wind energy projects is also expected to increase too.”
Source: SCMP
Posted in American Foreign Policy Council, Arctic, arms control, belt and road forum, Bishkek, Central Asia, Central Asian region, China alert, Chinese foreign minister, Crimea, Eurasian, Europe, Far Eastern Federal University, Free University of Berlin, FSB, Germany, Huawei, Imran Khan, India alert, Iraq, Islamic State fighters, Juan Guaido, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz President, Kyrgyzstan, Mike Pompeo, Namrata Goswami, Netherlands, North Korea, nuclear weapons, Pakistan, President Nicolas Maduro, President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia, Russian intelligence agency, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Sooronbay Jeenbekov, South China Sea, St Petersburg, support, Syria, Tajikistan, tensions, UN sanctions, Uncategorized, US, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vice President, Vladimir Putin, Vladivostok, Wang Qishan, Wang Yi, Washington, WTO-led and rules-based multilateral trading system |
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