The Baloch House

French Senate (2017-2018) by Mr  Pascal ALLIZARD , Mrs  Gisèle JOURDA , MM. Édouard COURTIAL and Jean-Noël GUÉRINI , made on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and the Armed Forces, tabled on May 30, 2018
LIST OF MAIN RECOMMENDATIONSRecommendation: Support the independent assessment of the effects of the new silk roads, in the geopolitical, economic, and environmental domains.A. Geopolitical fieldA1. Recommendation: For France, play a leading role in the new silk roads. France must be a driving force in its bilateral relationship with China in order to formally integrate into the process, in accordance with its objectives of reciprocity and respect for its international commitments. In this respect, France also has a leading role to play in developing the relationship between China and the European Union.A2. Recommendation: Consider, without naivety or aggressiveness, that China, by its current economic and military characteristics, is called to carry out a policy of p…

Naveed Aman KhanPakistan is entering into a new phase of economic development through China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) under the rubric of One Belt One Road Initiative. CPEC is more than a US$62 billion flagship project which emphasizes regional connectivity through economic development. The One Belt One Road Initiative (OBORI) is viewed as the revival of the ancient Silk Route connecting mainland China with Asia, Africa and Europe. It encompasses sixty-three countries of three continents. Being a flagship project of OBOR, CPEC will enhance the existing strategic cooperation between Beijing and Islamabad. It will also open up new avenues of economic development for the people of Balochistan.With estimated US$7.1 billion initial investments in energy, transport, development of Gwadar city and port through CPEC, Balochistan ranks second in its share from US$ 62 billion. Sooner Gwadar would be connected with other cities to expose the full potential of Balochistan. CPEC being a co…

Anusha ZahidEiwan Developments launch their first project 'Oshun', a beachfront, resort-style housing project in Gwadar.Eiwan Developments, an urban development company established by CG Holdings, have launched their first project called Oshun, a beachfront, resort-style housing project in Gwadar district, a corner of Pakistan which is currently the centre of global attention due to the deep sea port and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) worth $62 billion. Upon completion of the CPEC route, Gwadar will be connected to Central Asian countries and provide one of the largest trade routes internationally, while the seaport, under China’s supervision, will develop into a full-scale commercial port. This promise of a lucrative future is attracting investors from around the globe, including from the real estate sector.Although Eiwan (Persian for a three-walled house) is a new brand, the founders have a well-established reputation in the real estate sector. CG Holdings, an a…

By Hasaan KhawarThe writer is a public policy expert and an honorary Fellow of Consortium for Development Policy Research. He tweets @hasaankhawarRecently, I came across a very interesting research undertaken by a private sector firm that ranked the 67 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries to assess their attractiveness for investment. The research was based on publicly available data from the IMF, World Bank, UNDP and Transparency International.On this Belt and Road Index, Pakistan was ranked the 11th least attractive country. The index was based on economic potential, demographic advantage, infrastructure development, institutional effectiveness, market accessibility and resilience to natural disasters. Out of the six parameters, Pakistan performed the worst on institutional effectiveness, with a score that was less than half of India’s and lowest within South Asia, surpassing only that of Afghanistan.The results are not surprising and resonate rather well with data from other so…

“This will be my first visit to Pakistan, but I feel as if I am going to visit the home of my own brother”. With these words the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, described his first state visit to Islamabad on the eve of formalizing the historic agreement of the multibillion-dollar project, designated as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), in April 2015. Under this grand strategy, China began to finance numerous energy, transport and infrastructural development projects, advertised as being essential to improving Pakistan’s economic progress, social growth and regional connectivity.Now, after more than three years since the CPEC has officially commenced, it is high time for an assessment on how Pakistan and China have managed so far to advance this colossal, fifteen-year project, valued currently at $62 billion. This article will analyse whether Beijing indeed treats its ‘all-weather friend’ as a brother or more like a subordinate. It will evaluate the progress of the ongoing p…

You’ve seen the awful propaganda video, and John Oliver’s parody of it, and if you need a brief explainer on the Belt and Road Initiative, we have one for you on SupChina. But if you really want to get into the details of how China “uses, acquires and builds railroads, ports and pipelines to create a global infrastructure network,” the Mercator Institute for China Studies has created a very useful Belt and Road Tracker, including interactive maps and a database of deals and planned projects.

_Drawing on an extensive database of BRI projects, the MERICS Belt and Road Tracker provides informed analyses of BRI-related developments and trends. Apart from the database, which is updated regularly, the Tracker provides a wide range of regional and thematic maps to visualize the initiative’s scope and progress – as well as its setbacks._The lead researcher of the project is MERICS Research Associate Thomas S. Eder.Click to watch tracker ⤵
https://www.merics.org/en/bri-tracker

Jeremy Goldkorn, Editor-in-Chief1. Xinhua News Agency cheers the decline of American leadershipAustralia’s Lowy Institute has published the results of its 2018 public opinion poll: 42 percent of the survey respondents said Trump's presidency is a critical threat to their country — higher than foreign political interference (41 percent) and China's growing power (36 percent). Only 30 percent of Australians “have either ‘a lot’ or ‘some’ confidence in Donald Trump ‘to do the right thing regarding world affairs,’” while 43 percent are confident about Xi Jinping’s leadership.Meanwhile, the South China Morning Post points out that while “many foreign nations expressed regret at the United States’ decision to pull out of the United Nations’ top human rights body, the move could be a boon for China as it leaves it with one fewer critic in the group.”Xinhua News Agency is enjoying all of this: It has published a special feature (in Chinese) on Trump’s “withdrawal from the global commu…

Top DevelopmentsPotential Chinese Involvement Sparks Vietnam SEZ Protests
On June 10, Vietnamese police detained more than a hundred protesters in the capital of Hanoi and blocked demonstrations elsewhere, in response to controversial provisions in the draft law on Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Demonstrators fear that the zones will be dominated by Chinese investment, giving China excessive influence over the country. The Vietnamese government announced in May of last year that it planned to open three SEZs that would offer incentives to investors and reduce investment restrictions elsewhere in the country. The draft law doesn't identify any particular country, but recent exchanges between Vietnam and China related to SEZs have fueled speculation that China would be heavily involved. The regulations would allow investors to lease land for up to 99 years.Dispute Halts Hambantota Payments
It was reported on June 10 that China Merchant Port Holdings (CMPH), the primary Chinese contr…