Latest Articles about Economics
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Xi Jinping and the ‘Other’ China
At the end of May, China held its annual Chinese Poverty Alleviation International Forum (中国扶贫国际论坛), which serves to draw attention to Chinese achievements in this area (Xinhua, May 26). Poverty alleviation is likely to remain a key theme in state media as China prepares for... MORE
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Politics Dominate but Cannot Invigorate Economy in Putin’s Russia
The St. Petersburg Economic Forum (held on June 1–3) is a one-of-a-kind high-profile event, where Russian business elites camouflage their worries through demonstrations of loyalty, and in which high-level lobbying for or against reforms is mixed with expensive entertainment. Government officials are allowed a bit... MORE
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Uzbekistan’s Economic Ties to China Continue to Grow Under New President Mirziyaev
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyaev’s five-day trip to China earlier this month (May 11–15) has signaled that he is now moving on from the first phase of his foreign policy activities (Ng.ru, May 11). Since President Mirziyaev took office last December, priority was first accorded... MORE
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Belarusian Foreign Policy: In Search of Economic Growth Opportunities
After the liquidation of the Independent Institute for Socio-Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS—see EDM, September 7, 2016), no polling agency, state-run or independent, has conducted and published regular national surveys. From time to time, however, the void is filled by reliable sources. Thus, in April,... MORE
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Collapse of Russian Shipping in the Caspian Puts Moscow’s Regional Strategy at Risk
Since the start of 2017, the amount of cargo passing through Russian ports on the Caspian Sea has fallen, compared to last year, by 48.4 percent to only 1.1 million tons, according to the Russian Ports Association. This figure is striking given that Russian ports... MORE
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Aging Apartment Block Demolitions Awaken Moscow Regionalist Sentiments
Last February, Russian President Vladimir Putin recommended to the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, that the municipal administration demolish the city’s khrushchevki—five-story apartment buildings built in the 1950s–1960s and colloquially named after Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet General Secretary at the time. The current residents of... MORE
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Ukraine Survives Without Coal From Russia-Controlled Donbas
In spite of a blockade on shipments of anthracite coal from occupied Donbas to Ukrainian thermal power plants (TPPs) since this past winter, the country has thus far avoided blackouts. Moreover, Ukraine has managed to increase power generation by 2.1 percent year over year in... MORE
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Russia’s Reservations About China’s Silk Road
The One Belt, One Road summit, held in Beijing on May 14–15, was supposed to be a celebration of China’s major Eurasian developmental initiative (Xinhua, May 16). But at least to outsiders, it may not have turned out this way. European reservations hindered the acceptance... MORE
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Thinking the Unthinkable: Are American Organizations in China Ready for a Serious Crisis?
Since the 2016 General Election, American relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have followed a rollercoaster-like trajectory. Days before his inauguration, President Trump briefly reversed decades of predictable American conduct in a telephone conversation with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and hinted a departure... MORE
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China’s Global Power Projection Hit With “Strategic Overdraft”
Despite the tough challenges facing the Chinese economy, President and “core leader” Xi Jinping is going ahead with ambitious plans to project Chinese power worldwide including the landmark One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. Xi is expected to announce a new series of projects linking... MORE