Latest Articles about Economics

The Park-Xi Friendship and South Korea’s New Focus on China
While the 12,000-troop parade at China’s September 3 ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII was a striking sight in Beijing, those who closely follow China’s relationship with the Korean Peninsula may have watched the guests of President Xi Jinping just as... MORE

Are Georgia’s Friends Violating Tbilisi’s ‘Law on Occupied Territories?’
Georgia’s 2008 Law on Occupied Territories explicitly bans all domestic and foreign companies from conducting any type of economic (commercial or non-commercial) activities in the Russian-occupied territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia). Exceptions can be made in certain circumstances but only with the... MORE

Collapsing Guest Worker Transfer Payments Pushing Central Asia Into Perfect Storm
The collapse in the size of transfer payments from Central Asians working in the Russian Federation—they are down more than half from last year—is having a domino effect in the region and pushing Eurasia into what will, more than likely, be a political perfect storm.... MORE

China, Belarus Deepen Ties
Two countries on opposite ends of Eurasia are drawing closer, courtesy of the skein of railways slowly snaking across this massive region in the form of an evolving “Iron Silk Road.” While attending Chinese commemorations of the end of World War II in the Pacific,... MORE

Toppling Moldova’s Government: Popular Movement or Political Operation?
Since September 6, protesters have set up a tent city—it has grown to at least 150 tents to date—in Chisinau’s main square, outside the Moldovan government’s building. Leading the protest movement is a small group of journalists and civic activists: The Platform for Dignity and... MORE

Armenia’s Regional Energy and Transport Cooperation Squeezed by Russia
Shortly after the deal on Iran’s nuclear program, Iranian ambassador to Armenia, Mohammad Reyisi, gave several interviews to Armenian newspapers and news agencies concerning perspectives for future bilateral cooperation. Ambassador Reyisi noted that the joint construction of a hydroelectric plant on the river Arax could... MORE

Putin’s Pivot to China: Profit-Free, but Problem-Rich
China will host a huge military parade in Beijing on September 3, and President Vladimir Putin will be in attendance—returning President Xi Jinping’s earlier gesture of Sino-Russian partnership, which the Chinese head of state expressed as the top guest of honor at the parade in... MORE

Russia Threatens Georgia With Renewed Trade War
The Russian government regularly uses its agency for consumer protection, Rospotrebnadzor, for trade discrimination and blocking imports from countries whose policies Moscow does not like (see EDM, March 28, 2006; October 11, 2013; October 16, 2013). On August 4, 2015, Rospotrebnadzor issued a warning to... MORE

Debates on Finlandization for Ukraine
The issue of Ukraine’s prospective future membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) surfaced again recently with the publication of the latest public opinion poll, according to which, a historical high of almost 64 percent of Ukrainians supports joining the North Atlantic Alliance (UNIAN,... MORE

China Makes Inroads Into Strategically Located North Caucasus Republic
On July 27, Ingushetia’s governor, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, met members of two Chinese delegations in the republic’s capital, Magas. Chinese investors have reportedly expressed interest in some of the republic’s old oil fields that can be reclaimed. According to Yevkurov, the rights to own the republic’s... MORE