In 2017, Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) – a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative – was unveiled as a symbol of national progress. How has this affected the lives of ordinary people in Mombasa?
We’re proud to announce that Fiona Katherine Naeem has now published her PhD dissertation “Pamiri Lifeworlds: Narratives of Rupture in Gorno-Badakhshon Autonomous Oblast, Tajikistan”.
Does China’s growing role in Eastern Europe challenge the EU’s approach to promoting development in the region? Tanja Börzel, Julia Langbein, Lunting Wu & Valentin Krüsmann explore this question in their open-access article.
Nadia Ali’s text explores how infrastructural expansion under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), alongside growing state and private interests in tourism and mineral extraction, has altered the region of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Decades ago, Julius Nyerere stated that Tanzania should see for itself what China intends to do with the country. A lot has changed since then, but one thing has not: Europe still tends to dictate to post-colonial countries what they should think about China, especially when it comes to human rights. But on what basis? Do human rights really apply to everyone in Europe or only a select few? And how does this affect relations between Europe and African countries?
We are delighted to anounce that Dr. Ibrahima Niang (Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar/ZMO, Berlin) will give the next Silk Road Talk on 25 October from 4.15 to 5.45 p.m. The lecture will take place in the Department of Asian and African Studies at Invalidenstraße 118, Room 410. The New Silk Roads celebrate their tenth
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is one of the biggest projects in transportation, freight, road, rail, air, and maritime linkage in the history of the world, but it concerns itself inadequately with road safety. Out of 1.2 to 1.3 trillion US$, the transport investment is 144 billion to 304 billion. BRI transport projects are estimated to increase trade by between 2.8 and 9.7% for corridor economies (Pakistan, Indonesia and African continent) and between 1.7 and 6.2% for the world (ibid). With this huge volume of trade, one may ask: are road safety, carbon emission, environmental degradation and smog mitigating measures adopted in this mega initiative? BRI transport projects will contribute to lifting 7.6 million people from extreme poverty and 32 million people from moderate poverty (Ibid) but will security and safety of the road users be considered adequately?
China is purchasing stakes in strategic ports across the European Union with varying dynamics observable in each deal including its latest purchase at Germany’s Hamburg harbor. China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) which is one of the world’s largest shipping companies has also purchased shares in sea ports in: Belgium, Spain, Italy, Netherlands and Greece. These maritime investments are in line with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2013 proposition to invest in a 21st century Maritime Silk Road which is a part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Pakistan desperately needed investments in its energy sector because constant electricity blackouts and load shedding were gradually crippling its economy. The 2015 launch of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) brought hope to 236 million Pakistanis who make up the world’s fifth largest nation by population. Chinese companies increased electricity production through many new power production projects.
