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

[Beast]

Most of my Russian classmates hated perestroika and glasnost. But they say the system began to somewhat deteriorate before Gorbachev. Of course, his decision to entirely dismantle the system was wrong; he could have simply adjusted to the new requirements of the time. After all, this was what dialectical materialism would suggest.

Yes, Russian economy was quite bad in the early 80s. They do not have a powerful economy to support such an expensive military expenditure. Too much resources were spend on military that neglected civilian infrastructure and progress. For example, Why would soviet need 25000 nuke warhead? It is enough to destroy 4 times the land space in world. Those nuke are expensive to maintain and keep up. Having 4000 nuke warhead will be enough of a deterrent to make your foe think twice about invading USSR.

 

[TaiShang]

Yes, Russian economy was quite bad in the early 80s. They do not have a powerful economy to support such an expensive military expenditure. Too much resources were spend on military that neglected civilian infrastructure and progress. For example, Why would soviet need 25000 nuke warhead? It is enough to destroy 4 times the land space in world. Those nuke are expensive to maintain and keep up. Having 4000 nuke warhead will be enough of a deterrent to make your foe think twice about invading USSR.

I guess just as China has learned from the Soviet experience, Russia seems to have learned from it. That's probably the reason why they are now able to manage a multi-front struggle with the West.

Of course, better relations with China is an important factor. Russia has a huge economic hinterland to rely on when it comes to the worst, thanks to China.

China-Russia compatibility and high-level partnership is creates lots of public goods for both nations and this must be further promoted/elevated.

 

[TaiShang]

Li, Medvedev Attend China-Russia Youth, Media Exchange Ceremony
2015-12-18 12:23:00 Xinhua Web Editor: Huang Yue




Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attend the closing ceremony of China-Russia Youth Year & opening ceremony of China-Russia Media Exchange Year in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 17, 2015. [Photo: Xinhua/Wang Ye]



Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attend the closing ceremony of China-Russia Youth Year & opening ceremony of China-Russia Media Exchange Year in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 17, 2015. [Photo: Xinhua/Zhang Duo]



Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attend the closing ceremony of China-Russia Youth Year & opening ceremony of China-Russia Media Exchange Year in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 17, 2015. [Photo: Xinhua/Zhang Duo]

 

[Place Of Space]

Big friend sometimes is really useful.

 

[Kyle Sun]

i never say any ru company in my real life
we two have huge potential to burst cooperation

 

[beijingwalker]

 

[beijingwalker]

Boom and bust along Chinese-Russian border | Journal Reporters

 

[oproh]

I already watched both videos, they are interesting. I think Russia's economy will grow less than 1% next year, the return to positive growth is a welcome news but Putin still needs to work double time.

 

[oproh]

Nice, hopefully more news like this in the future.

 

[JSCh]

Russia seeks to strengthen energy alliance with China – Asia Times
By Sergei Blagov on December 18, 2015 in Asia Times News & Features, China

MOSCOW– The Kremlin intensified efforts to re-orient its energy strategy towards East Asia, as Russia’s plans of energy trade with Europe have been adversely affected by the Ukrainian crisis, as well as the latest conflict with Turkey.

Natural gas and crude oil export to China have long been a key element of Russia’s East Asian energy strategy. This week, Russia moved to strengthen the energy alliance with China by concluding a series of new agreements.

On December 17, the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) signed an agreement on the cross-border section of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline, including the sub-water link across the Amur River. The deal involves the so called “Eastern” gas pipeline route.

Gazprom and CNPC also agreed to continue negotiating the “Western” gas supply route in January 2016, including plans to raise its capacity up to 60 billion cubic meters (bcm)/year.

Gazprom and CNPC agreed to cooperate on gas-powered electricity generation in Eastern and North-Eastern China. By pushing this agreement, Gazprom apparently seeks to ensure a long-term market for its gas in China.

CNPC clinched a tentative deal with Gazprom’s oil subsidiary, Gazpromneft, that envisages possible joint oil projects in Russia, China and third countries.

Energy giants Rosneft and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) signed an MOU on possible joint oil and gas projects in Siberia.

In all, both sides signed more than 30 energy, finance and technology cooperation agreements during Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to China this week.

Also on December 17, Russia’s largest gas processing and petrochemicals company SIBUR and Sinopec finalized Sinopec’s acquisition of a 10% interest in SIBUR. Sinopec will have the right to nominate a representative for SIBUR’s board as a strategic investor, SIBUR said.

This week’s bilateral gas deals followed key agreements concluded earlier this year and last year. On May 8, 2015, Gazprom and CNPC signed a deal on gas supplies to China via the so called Western route. Gazprom agreed to supply China with 30 bcm of gas annually for 30 years. In May 2014, both sides agreed a $400-billion deal for Russia to supply China with 38 bcm/year from 2018 for 30 years via the Eastern route.

Moscow’s plans to develop the energy alliance with China took quite long to materialize. Back in 2006, Moscow first pledged to export Russian gas to China. But Russia and China struggled to agree on gas prices. Gazprom first offered to supply gas at European price levels, while CNPC insisted on lower prices.

Russia’s top officials had previously expected final agreements on gas prices to be concluded in 2009, and gas supplies to start in 2014-2015. Instead, these final agreements were signed only in 2014-2015.

In contrast with the planned gas pipelines, Russian crude oil supplies to China already became an important element of the bilateral trade. In 2014, Russian oil shipments to China reached 28.5 million tons or nearly 40% up year-on-year.

In 2011, Russia started crude oil supplies to China via the East Siberia Pacific Pipeline (ESPO). According to the agreement concluded in 2009, Russian state-run energy giants Rosneft and Transneft pledged to supply 15 million tons of oil to China for 20 years in exchange for Chinese loans totaling $25 billion.

Russia’s latest efforts to strengthen energy partnership with China happened to coincide with a steep decline in international energy prices that came as a blow to the Russian state coffers. Therefore, Moscow is becoming increasingly interested in China’s energy market, part of a huge and still growing economy.

 

[TaiShang]

Sinopec acquires 10% share of Russia's Sibur
December 17, 2015

Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner, has completed a deal to acquire 10 percent share of Russia's largest gas processing and petrochemicals company Sibur, they announced Thursday.

Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner. [File photo/Xinhua]

The 10 percent minority investment will lead to better sharing of joint expertise and resources, strengthen not only the leading market position of both companies, but also the strategic cooperation between China and Russia, said a statement on Sinopec's website.

Sinopec will have the right to nominate a representative for Sibur's board of directors as a strategic investor, it added.

"Sibur's vertically-integrated upstream and petrochemical business model is highly complementary with Sinopec's businesses. This transaction is in line with our objective to strategically expand our petrochemical business overseas, and help diversify and secure Sinopec's long-term sourcing of petrochemical products," Wang Yupu, chairman of Sinopec, was quoted in the statement.

The completion of the deal came after Sibur and Sinopec signed a strategic partnership agreement in September 2015.

The two companies will discuss the possibility of widening the scope of collaboration. Sinopec is expected to participate in the Amur Gas Chemical Complex construction project as a strategic partner with Sibur, Sinopec said.

***
China's Silk Road Fund to buy into Russian LNG project
Xinhua, December 18, 2015

China's Silk Road Fund, a medium- to long-term investment fund, will buy 9.9 percent of a Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

The Silk Road Fund said Friday that it entered into a set of binding agreements with Russia-based natural gas producer Novatek on Thursday in the presence of Premier Li Keqiang and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

The Fund will buy 9.9 percent stake in Novatek's Yamal LNG project and provide a 15-year loan of around 730 million euros (about 790 million U.S. dollars) to finance the project. The deal will not ahead until an intergovernmental agreement comes into force.

Located on the Yamal Peninsula, the Yamal project is the world's largest natural gas development, liquefaction, transportation and sale project, with a designed annual output of 28 billion cubic meters.

The Silk Road Fund was set up in December 2014 to promote investment and financing cooperation between China and other countries, serving the China-proposed "Belt and Road" initiative, which encompasses the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

 

[Jlaw]

Most of my Russian classmates hated perestroika and glasnost. But they say the system began to somewhat deteriorate before Gorbachev. Of course, his decision to entirely dismantle the system was wrong; he could have simply adjusted to the new requirements of the time. After all, this was what dialectical materialism would suggest.

Gorbechev and Yeltsin will go down in history as what Emperess Dowager was to China.

 

[Aepsilons]

I believe the Russians have particular strengths unique to their state in particular the national dialectic of national support despite multinational economic restrictions. This makes one one refer to history ; in 1948 Russia was already falling victim to sanctions leveled against her by the west and it would be half a century before they were lifted.

Why even the Soviet Union also played the sanctions game as well such as against China, Albania, Yugoslavia and even against Finland.

So the issue is Russian adaptability is with out question ; with Chinese investments and collaboration , the Russians will more likely than not weather this.

@Sakura_Kaigun my friend ---

If the Soviet Union can survive an all-encompassing sanction leveled against her by the West for over 50 years, then surely the Russian Federation , today, can expect to resist the effects of the sanctions currently, yes? I do agree with you that tho the sanctions have a political message, its importance is based on the fact that it has reawakened a geopolitical division in Europe and the drawing of lines. While I agree with you that China's investments in Russia and current trade levels in Russia will ultimately help the Russians face recent capital flight, I believe there is only so much that China can contribute. Afterall, the Chinese are vested in developing the Silk Road Paradigm which will aim to encompass Greater China's Western territory with the rest of Central and Western Asia to the hinterland of Europe and the Near East. China has a multifactorial role in developing that region, and much capital will be required to realize that, as well as the importance of maintaining a broad-minded political rapproachment process --- meaning China will maintain a healthy distance with Russia while She engages the West and the Near Eastern states. The Chinese are not dependent on Russia, while the latter is now dependent on the former. That's my view.

Would you be as so kind to enlighten me and the rest here on your analysis of what made China successful compared to Russia's early experiment post-Soviet epoch? I know i'm asking a broad question, but please enlighten me.

Thank you kindly, Sir.

 

[Borr]

This article is written by someone that know his/her own trade, but not much outside his/her field. Taiwan looks good in semiconductors, but is actually only good at MARKETING a few commercialized applications of semiconductors. That's it.

China didn't industrialize over one generation. China's real industrialization started in th 50' with the Soviet Union's SYSTEMATIC transfer of a bundle of 100+ entire industries, as part of bargain in the aftermath of the Korean war.

China has many industries that simply doesn't exist in TW. The real impact of process in the article is TW is one of the early birds (and more investments from SEA Chinese ethnic groups) when China switched from the Soviet economic bloc into the Europan/American bloc.

 

[FlyCheatter]

This article is written by someone that know his/her own trade, but not much outside his/her field. Taiwan looks good in semiconductors, but is actually only good at MARKETING a few commercialized applications of semiconductors. That's it.

China didn't industrialize over one generation. China's real industrialization started in th 50' with the Soviet Union's SYSTEMATIC transfer of a bundle of 100+ entire industries, as part of bargain in the aftermath of the Korean war.

China has many industries that simply doesn't exist in TW. The real impact of process in the article is TW is one of the early birds (and more investments from SEA Chinese ethnic groups) when China switched from the Soviet economic bloc into the Europan/American bloc.

...absolutely right, setting the Taiwan as the one superhero industrialized Chine - a "lil" (a huuuge one in reality) exxageration. Soviet Union industialized China (Liberated by destruction Kwantung army - basicaly entire Army of Japan, armed, and made communist), hundreds of thousands of chineese students were having education in SU for the above mentioned Industies transfer ... and then yep, . you put it ... 'switch'

...there's "millions" of "Institutes" of studying/modern/whatever Russia exists ... mostly doing just rubbish production and money consumption ... -- the face of "modern Russia" - corrupt and useless elites consuming resources...