This week’s news mainly points to the increasing momentum of the New Silk Road initiative in general on the one hand and the Maritime Silk Road in particular. The most important development in this area [Japan floats business aid idea for China's Belt and Road plan] seems to be Japan announcing its willingness to work with and help the progress of the New Silk Road initiative: “Under the plan, Japan would extend financial assistance to Japanese companies doing business with China as part of the initiative, on a case-by-case basis.” This is a major development.
In two other news items, some significant developments are unfolding in the Maritime Silk Road. Reuters [China Harbour Engineering to invest $1 billion in Sri Lanka's Port City: minister] reports on a Sri Lankan minister announcing that a Chinese consortium ‘will invest $1 billion to build three 60-storey office towers on reclaimed land of the Port City development in Sri Lanka’s capital’.
NY Times article [China’s Ambitious New ‘Port’: Landlocked Kazakhstan] points to the seemingly strange port-related investment in the landlocked country of Kazakhstan (a country where the New Silk Road initiative was originally announced). China is investing in a so-called ‘dry port’ or 'terminal', that will function as a transport hub for handling cargo for trains rather than ships, increasing the geo-economic significance of the landlocked country of Kazakhstan.
M. Forough
The next edition of Silk Road Headlines will be dated 17 January 2018.
This week's Silk Road Headlines
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