Earlier this month, the leaders of Japan and India paused to lay the foundation stone for a high-speed railway. Shinzo Abe was visiting Narendra Modi’s home state, where a 500-kilometer bullet train using Japanese financing and technology will link Mumbai and the industrial city of Ahmedabad. Modi called Japan “a true friend” and the train a “symbol of new India.” Abe agreed, saying, “The project symbolizes India-Japan friendship.” It also illustrates the high-stakes competition underway to connect the Eurasian supercontinent. China has stolen the spotlight, but other regional powers are not standing still.
Sep 27, 2017
“I really like China” a diplomat told us a few months ago, “they are the only ones around with a plan for the 21st century.” That plan – China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) – has, however, raised ample concern, from Asia all the way to the Berlin and Washington.
Sep 18, 2017
The first rail connection between Turkey and Georgia is fast approaching completion. When operational, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) line, which extends to Azerbaijan, could integrate all three countries to unlock new trade patterns and shift Eurasia’s economic center of gravity inward. The potential gains are significant, but so are the obstacles in laying the Middle Corridor of the New Silk Road.
Aug 8, 2017
Quotes and Quotas is a weekly digest of phrases and facts that help explain Asia’s infrastructure push.
Aug 4, 2017
The news is full these days of “historic” train links between China and Europe. The latest locomotive to grab headlines was a China-Europe freight train that set off from eastern China this month. Earlier this year, the first direct freight train linking China and the United Kingdom arrived in London. But these powerful symbols aren’t always what they seem. A closer look cautions against declaring that the Silk Road is back in business.
Jul 26, 2017