The Great Game Changer: Belt and Road Intiative (BRI; OBOR)

[MAJESTICAL]

China and Russia showing eyes to Us-Japan eh

 

[Tiger Genie]

indian,go do something meaningful instead of wishing the one way superior than you to collapse,every time you bringed up your entertaining+resentful "predictions", you sounded like a grumble pus*y cursing the stronger who had ill-treated you,we've never been in the same league and will never be,the past has proved india is too subpar and lame for us to even call you a competitor,so please leave us alone and go bother someone else like somalia or afghan same of your league

Don't get so perturbed Zhangji....I am not saying China is hopeless. Just pointing out that until and unless China has another revolution and hopefully a less tyrannical system of governance, there is no chance for China to run any rings around any people oriented system. All you will ever be is glorified walmart suppliers - and as evidence of that I just showed you what happens when your government tried to 'open' the stock market ...next thing you know it collapsed, the CPC had to ORDER brokerages to keep buying to artificially shore up AND stop trading in some 70% of all stock! See, it is not enough to just improve roads while leaving your people in a primitive stage!

 

[Beidou2020]

Don't get so perturbed Zhangji....I am not saying China is hopeless. Just pointing out that until and unless China has another revolution and hopefully a less tyrannical system of governance, there is no chance for China to run any rings around any people oriented system. All you will ever be is glorified walmart suppliers - and as evidence of that I just showed you what happens when your government tried to 'open' the stock market ...next thing you know it collapsed, the CPC had to ORDER brokerages to keep buying to artificially shore up AND stop trading in some 70% of all stock! See, it is not enough to just improve roads while leaving your people in a primitive stage!

As opposed to India being a glorified call centre for your English-speaking masters?

When the Hindus get rid of that backward caste system and stop raping women and hanging them on trees, then you can call the Indians semi-civilised. Until then, Indians will remain one of the most primitive species on earth.

The thing is, Indians and Africans breed like rats and use up the resources of the world but 90% of the population Indian and African population are illiterate which means the contribution of India and Africa to the world is negligible.

Btw, let me know when the Indians get introduced to indoor plumbing

 

[Tiger Genie]

The thing is, Indians and Africans breed like rats and use up the resources of the world but 90% of the population Indian and African population are illiterate which means the contribution of India and Africa to the world is negligible.

this shows how civilized you are....fortunately most of the chinese I know are much better people than you, so I won't lash back.

 

[TheTruth]

this shows how civilized you are....fortunately most of the chinese I know are much better people than you, so I won't lash back.

People-run governments are not infallible. There are too many examples to the contrary for me to really believe this.

 

[Gauss]

It will take time but soon enough american sanctions on any country will be meaningless. American control over the global financial system allows it to sanction countries but that control will indeed disappear as China Russia and other non allied countries fill up their coffers.

 

[Raphael]

Reshuffling Eurasia’s energy deck — Iran, China and Pipelineistan: Escobar | Asia Times

Pipelineistan – the prime Eurasian energy chessboard — never sleeps. Recently, it’s Russia that has scored big on all fronts; two monster gas deals sealed with China last year; the launch of Turk Stream replacing South Stream; and the doubling of Nord Stream to Germany.

Now, with the possibility of sanctions on Iran finally vanishing by late 2015/early 2016, all elements will be in place for the revival of one of Pipelineistan’s most spectacular soap operas, which I have been following for years; the competition between the IP (Iran-Pakistan) and TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) gas pipelines.

The $7.5-billion IP had hit a wall for years now – a casualty of hardcore geopolitical power play. IP was initially IPI – connected to India; both India and Pakistan badly need Iranian energy. And yet relentless pressure from successive Bush and Obama administrations scared India out of the project. And then sanctions stalled it for good.

Now, Pakistan’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi swears IP is a go. The Iranian stretch of the 1,800-kilometer pipeline has already been built. IP originates in the massive South Pars gas fields – the largest in the world – and ends in the Pakistani city of Nawabshah, close to Karachi. The geopolitical significance of this steel umbilical cord linking Iran and Pakistan couldn’t be more graphic.

Enter – who else? – China. Chinese construction companies already started working on the stretch between Nawabshah and the key strategic port of Gwadar, close to the Iranian border.

China is financing the Pakistani stretch of IP. And for a very serious reason; IP, for which Gwadar is a key hub, is essential in a much larger long game; the $46 billion China-Pakistan economic corridor, which will ultimately link Xinjiang to the Persian Gulf via Pakistan. Yes, once again, we’re right into New Silk Road(s) territory.

And the next step regarding Gwadar will be essential for China’s energy strategy; an IP extension all the way to Xinjiang. That’s a huge logistical challenge, implying the construction of a pipeline parallel to the geology — defying Karakoram highway.

IP will continue to be swayed by geopolitics. The Japan-based and heavily US-influenced Asian Development Bank (ADB) committed a $30 million loan to help Islamabad build its first LNG terminal. The ADB knows that Iranian natural gas is a much cheaper option for Pakistan compared to LNG imports. And yet the ADB’s agenda is essentially an American agenda; out with IP, and full support to TAPI.

This implies, in the near future, the strong possibility of Pakistan increasingly relying on the China-driven Asian Infrastructure Development Bank (AIIB) for infrastructure development, and not the ADB.

Recently, the IP field got even more crowded with the arrival of Gazprom. Gazprom also wants to invest in IP – which means Moscow getting closer to Islamabad. That’s part of another key geopolitical gambit; Pakistan being admitted as a full member, alongside India, of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), something that will happen, soon, with Iran as well. For the moment, Russia-Pakistan collaboration is already evident in an agreement to build a gas pipeline from Karachi to Lahore.

Talk to the (new) Mullah

So where do all these movements leave TAPI?

The $10 billion TAPI is a soap opera that stretches all the way back to the first Clinton administration. This is what the US government always wanted from the Taliban; a deal to build a gas pipeline to Pakistan and India bypassing Iran. We all know how it all went horribly downhill.

The death of Mullah Omar – whenever that happened – may be a game changer. Not for the moment, tough, because there is an actual Taliban summer offensive going on, and “reconciliation” talks in Afghanistan have been suspended.

Whatever happens next, all the problems plaguing TAPI remain. Turkmenistan – adept of self-isolation, idiosyncratic and unreliable as long as it’s not dealing with China – is a mystery concerning how much natural gas it really holds (the sixth largest or third largest reserves in the world?)

And the idea of committing billions of dollars to build a pipeline traversing a war zone – from Western Afghanistan to Kandahar, not to mention crossing a Balochistan prone to separatist attacks — is nothing short of sheer lunacy.

Energy majors though, remain in the game. France’s Total seems to be in the lead, with Russian and Chinese companies not far behind. Gazprom’s interest in TAPI is key – because the pipeline, if built, would certainly be connected in the future to others which are part of the massive, former Soviet Union energy grid.

To complicate matters further, there is the fractious relationship between Gazprom and Turkmenistan. Until the recent, spectacular Chinese entrance, Ashgabat depended mostly on Russia to market Turkmen gas, and to a lesser extent, Iran.

As part of a nasty ongoing dispute, Turkmengaz accuses Gazprom of economic exploitation. So what is Plan B? Once again, China. Beijing already buys more than half of all Turkmen gas exports. That flows through the Central Asia-China pipeline; full capacity of 55 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year, only used by half at the moment.

China is already helping Turkmenistan to develop Galkynysh, the second largest gas field in the world after South Pars.

And needless to add, China is as much interested in buying more gas from Turkmenistan – the Pipelineistan way – as from Iran. Pipelineistan fits right into China’s privileged “escape from Malacca” strategy; to buy a maximum of energy as far away from the U.S. Navy as possible.

So Turkmenistan is bound to get closer and closer, energy-wise, to Beijing. That leaves the Turkmen option of supplying the EU in the dust – as much as Brussels has been courting Ashgabat for years.

The EU pipe dream is a Pipelineistan stretch across the Caspian Sea. It won’t happen, because of a number of reasons; the long-running dispute over the Caspian legal status – Is it a lake? Is it a sea? – won’t be solved anytime soon; Russia does not want it; and Turkmenistan does not have enough Pipelineistan infrastructure to ship all that gas from Galkynysh to the Caspian.

Considering all of the above, it’s not hard to identify the real winner of all these interlocking Pipelineistan power plays – way beyond individual countries; deeper Eurasia integration. And so far away from Western interference.

 

[Aepsilons]

IP will continue to be swayed by geopolitics. The Japan-based and heavily US-influenced Asian Development Bank (ADB) committed a $30 million loan to help Islamabad build its first LNG terminal. The ADB knows that Iranian natural gas is a much cheaper option for Pakistan compared to LNG imports. And yet the ADB’s agenda is essentially an American agenda; out with IP, and full support to TAPI.

This implies, in the near future, the strong possibility of Pakistan increasingly relying on the China-driven Asian Infrastructure Development Bank (AIIB) for infrastructure development, and not the ADB.

Good luck with that, however, the reality is that the ADB will continue to help fund projects, energy driven assets and more , in Pakistan and around Pakistan.

Good Luck to you, Good Luck to Us.

 

[Raphael]

Good luck with that, however, the reality is that the ADB will continue to help fund projects, energy driven assets and more , in Pakistan and around Pakistan.

Good Luck to you, Good Luck to Us.

Cheap energy for Pakistan, and especially for Gwadar, can only benefit us. I'm glad to see Pakistan get all the assistance it can for energy infrastructure.

 

[Aepsilons]

Cheap energy for Pakistan, and especially for Gwadar, can only benefit us. I'm glad to see Pakistan get all the assistance it can for energy infrastructure.

Pakistan is a developing, and fairly large nation, she will need and require the help of her partners around the world. To which Japan is part of. The ADB will continue to fund projects for Pakistan, now, and in the indefinite future.

 

[opruh]

AIIB should fund some projects in Pakistan, not the ADB.

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Pakistan is a developing, and fairly large nation, she will need and require the help of her partners around the world. To which Japan is part of. The ADB will continue to fund projects for Pakistan, now, and in the indefinite future.

Security situation is getting better.. Economy is improving but Pak is energy starved...

P.S; Pak isn't used in a "fem" sense..

 

[Aepsilons]

Cheap energy for Pakistan, and especially for Gwadar, can only benefit us. I'm glad to see Pakistan get all the assistance it can for energy infrastructure.

Why should Pakistan be solely dependent on only Chinese funding? Do you actually think that China is the only source of investment in Pakistan? Perhaps you should look into the development of Pakistan since inception. Anyways, I am proud to say that Japan and Pakistan have a long history of cooperation, from the civil engagement level, to the strategic level, to the economic.

I believe there is room for growth.

Some positive news:

---------------------

ADB to disburse $400m for energy to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Executive Director of Asian Development Bank (ADB) belonging to Pakistan, Sami Saeed on Tuesday informed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar that another $400 million were ready to be disbursed to Pakistan after the ADB’s Board approval under the Energy Sector Reforms Programme.



Federal Minister for Finance Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar had a meeting with the Executive Director, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Mr. Sami Saeed here Tuesday.The Finance Minister welcomed the ADB Executive Director and shared with him details of his recent visit to Beijing for signing Articles of Agreement of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The Minister also exchanged views with Mr. Sami Saeed on ADB’s development programmes in Pakistan.



Mr. Sami Saeed said that AIIB had an important role to play for infrastructure development in Asian countries, specifically Pakistan, where the Government was focused on the energy, infrastructure and communication projects.



He said that the establishment of AIIB would help ADB in becoming more competitive and come up with better investment plans for its development partners. He added that Pakistan government’s positive measures for economic reforms had earned confidence of foreign investors who were eager to invest in mega projects in the country.



Mr. Sami Saeed also referred to Finance Minister’s meetings in Baku where he had presented Pakistan’s case for financing requirements in an emphatic manner and said that ADB was considering enhancing funding for Pakistan.



He informed the minister that ADB had approved on 30th June the amount of $225 million for the flood affectees out of which 65% will be for retroactive financing. Another $400 million were ready to be disbursed to Pakistan after the Board approval under the Energy Sector Reforms Programme. He informed the Minister that ADB was planning to contribute towards “Disaster Management Fund” for Pakistan along with other donors, enhancing the country’s capacity to guard against natural calamities.



The Finance Minister appreciated the support of ADB for Pakistan and said “ADB has been a great development partner for Pakistan. We appreciate its fair and independent working procedures. The Bank has always extended great support to Pakistan and we hope that it would continue to support Pakistan in future also”.

ADB to disburse $400m for energy to Pakistan - thenews.com.pk

Security situation is getting better.. Economy is improving but Pak is energy starved...

Indeed, my friend, Pakistan is definitely attracting more international investors.

Interview: ‘Japanese are very interested to invest in Pakistan’ –Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Inomata | Pakistan Today

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Why should Pakistan be solely dependent on only Chinese funding? Do you actually think that China is the only source of investment in Pakistan? Perhaps you should look into the development of Pakistan since inception. Anyways, I am proud to say that Japan and Pakistan have a long history of cooperation, from the civil engagement level, to the strategic level, to the economic.

Pakistan doesn't want to be solely dependant on China.. We are trying our best to rope in investors from around the world... But the reality is that China is the largest investor in the country... And more than helpful in funding infrastructure projects...


Also I really hope that this energy crisis is resolved soon... After 2009 ., the PPP govt did nothing except corruption ... No power generation projects nothing... And due to that we are seeing one of the worst energy crisis ever... Probably the worst ever... And due to a massive shortfall of 2000?MWs ... Industries are t working on full capacity,cottage industries have shutdown with even Pak businessmen moving to countries like Bangladesh (which got atleast 13-14 billion $ investment from Pak)... Despite the govt current govt providing gas and electricity to industrial areas (at the cost of people).. It's barely enough... IP,TAPI,nuclear plants,solar energy plants,hydro and "coal" projects have been mostly launched .. And we can hope that by 2018 the country will completely overcome this issue... Ironic part is that it was Pak that was trying to export electricity and today we are forced to buy electricity from Iran to light up Gwadar distt.


But yes we are grateful for Japanese help !

But personally I'd love to see Honda ,Toyota and Suzuki put out of business in Pak... They and their local partners are literally looting people ! People str forces to pay like 8000 $ for a shitty 80s model 700?cc tin can..

And over .3 million $ for land cruisers etc.. Hopefully VW will soon establish their plant here and give some competition to local manufacturers and assemblers who have formed a Monoply here.

 

[Obambam]

But the reality is that China is the largest investor in the country... And more than helpful in funding infrastructure projects...

Where and who we are is something that nobody can change. We are each other's immediate neighbours, our diplomatic and brotherly relations are time tested. It is only natural that we look to one another first before anyone else for our internal and regional affairs.