Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and Global South strategic cooperation

MortyandRick

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Big day as the Simandou iron ore project has now started production with WCS and SimFer as the main operators. They spent $20B building more than 400 miles in railways and port.

It's so important that China has sent vice premier Liu Guozhong to visit Guinea and Sierra Leone.
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i can foresee if the American company delays delivery of trains or sabotages transport, or if the US stipulates that western companies sanction the iron delivery system to stop the transport of iron ore to China. could that happen?
 

Michael90

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i can foresee if the American company delays delivery of trains or sabotages transport, or if the US stipulates that western companies sanction the iron delivery system to stop the transport of iron ore to China. could that happen?
We have to be objective here. Guinea authorities are just following the terms of the contracts since it was clearly stipulated in the contract that it will be US company Wabtec who will provide the locomotives. So I see nothing wrong there. I dont understand why China despite knowing this still wanted to send her own locomotives instead. When somebody signs such a big contract they have to follow the rules/laws stipulated in the contract.

Moroever, you have to put yourself in Guineas position. As a small relatively poor African country , Guinea has to be very careful, they dont have to be seen to be picking sides in this coming geo political confrontation between the US/West and China. So they have been very smart to diversify the projects contracts to many western countries and China, so that it won't be sabotage by either side since every country involved in the contract has an interests in making the project work. Do you want Guinea to put all her eggs in the Chinese basket? What if it draws the ire of the US/West and the US starts getting involved to sabotage Guinea politically or even militarily? Will China come to Guineas aid? Of course not, since we know China's policy of non interference . So Guinea has to be smart in balancing all sides. That's the best policy for small countries (NEVER PICK A SIDE OPENLY, AND ALWAYS BALANCE EACH POWER AGAINST THE OTHER WHILE GETTING THE MAXIMUM BENEFIT FROM ALL SIDES). That's the best move to make for small/middle powers.
 

Wrought

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King of Thailand to make first ever state visit to China.

BANGKOK, Nov 12 (Reuters) - When King Maha Vajiralongkorn arrives in Beijing on Thursday, he will become the first reigning Thai monarch to make a state visit to China, in what analysts say is a sign of the Asian giant's increasing influence on his kingdom. A constitutional monarchy since 1932, Thailand has used royal visits as foreign policy tools, including two U.S. trips by King Vajiralongkorn's father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, during the height of the Cold War in the 1960s.

In a statement announcing the visit by King Vajiralongkorn and his wife Queen Suthida, the Thai government said it was a reflection of "the deep-rooted friendship and mutual understanding shared between Thailand and China at all levels."

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Wrought

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Russia announced that it will host Chinese students for studies in Arctic shipping.

Under the programme, Chinese sailors will be trained at Russian universities managed by the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport. The training will include both classroom lessons and hands-on practice using specialised simulators to help them gain experience in polar conditions. The announcement came after the 30th regular meeting between the heads of government of Russia and China in Beijing. A joint communiqué released after the meeting stated that both countries agreed to deepen cooperation on Arctic issues, including through the Subcommittee on Cooperation on the Northern Sea Route.

According to the document, the goal is to improve safety in high-latitude navigation, develop polar ships and technologies, train skilled personnel, increase cargo movement along the Northern Sea Route, and make the route more competitive compared to other global shipping lanes.

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Wrought

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The CKU railway, which began construction about a year ago, is progressing faster than anticipated.

The
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project is progressing faster than planned and could be finished in four years instead of six. Hikmatulla Rakhmetov, First Deputy Head of O’zbekiston Temir Yo’llari (Uzbek Railways), highlighted that construction is ahead of schedule and exceeding expectations,
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informs via
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.

The new railway will shorten the distance among China,
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, and
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by over 1,000 kilometers, boosting trade and connectivity. Uzbekistan’s Transport Minister Ilhom Makhkamov emphasized that the project, alongside the future Trans-Afghan corridor, will link Central Asia directly to the Indian Ocean, enhancing the region’s transit potential and forming part of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor. Construction began on December 27, 2024, in Jalal-Abad. The 532.5-kilometer route-312 kilometers in Kyrgyzstan-runs through Kashgar, Torugart, Makmal, Jalal-Abad, and Andijan. The estimated cost of the project is $4.7 billion, marking a significant step toward faster, more efficient trade across Central and South Asia.

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Wrought

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Gazprom has entered the detailed design phase for Power of Siberia 2.

The engineers were likely carrying out the front-end engineering design stage, which involves producing “hundreds of volumes” of technical documentation, said Sergey Vakulenko, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former head of strategy at Gazprom Neft,
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’s oil division. Carrying out such studies was expensive and, according to Vakulenko, could amount to 5 per cent of the total cost for a project of this scale. A senior Russian energy executive told the FT that the cost might be up to 10 per cent of the overall expense.

“Such spending is unusual, unless there is a strong belief that the money is being well spent and that the investment is safe,” the executive said, referring to the design stage.

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Wrought

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A highly unusual request from India—or rather, from Air India to Delhi and then potentially to Beijing—to use Chinese airspace (specifically over Xinjiang) for commercial flights. This is due to Pakistan's airspace being closed to India since May, which has caused significant financial strain on their flagship airline.

NEW DELHI/HONG KONG, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Air India is lobbying the Indian government to convince China to let it use a sensitive military airspace zone in Xinjiang to shorten routes as the financial toll from a ban on Indian carriers flying over Pakistan mounts, a company document shows. The unusual request comes
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after direct India-China flights resumed after a five-year hiatus following a Himalayan border clash between the nations.

Air India has been seeking to rebuild its reputation and international network after a London-bound Boeing
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787 Dreamliner
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in Gujarat in June, killing 260 people and forcing it to briefly cut flights for safety checks. But that effort is being complicated by the closure of Pakistan airspace to Indian carriers since their diplomatic tensions
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in late April. For Air India, the country's only carrier with a major international network, fuel costs have risen by as much as 29% and journey times by up to three hours on some long-haul routes, according to the previously unreported document submitted to Indian officials in late October and reviewed by Reuters.

The Indian government is reviewing Air India's plea to diplomatically ask China to allow an alternative routing and emergency access to airports in case of diversions at Hotan, Kashgar and Urumqi in Xinjiang, aiming to reach U.S., Canada and Europe faster, the document said. "Air India's long-haul network is under severe operational and financial strain ... Securing Hotan route will be a strategic option," it added. The airline, owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines
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, estimated the Pakistan airspace closure's impact on its profit before tax at $455 million annually - a significant amount given its fiscal 2024-25 loss stood at $439 million.

As a result, Air India is losing market share to competitors and struggling with increased operating costs.

But after the Pakistan airspace closure, Air India's Delhi-Washington route was
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in August. Now other routes are under review, with the direct Mumbai- and Bengaluru to San Francisco routes "becoming unviable" due to an additional three hours of travel time, including a technical stop in Kolkata, the document said. A flight from San Francisco to Mumbai on Lufthansa via Munich is now only five minutes longer than on Air India. "Passengers (are) shifting to foreign carriers due to shorter flight time as they have the benefit of Pakistan overflight," the document said.

Air India estimates the requested Hotan route in China could substantially cut extra fuel requirements and flight times, help restore passenger and cargo capacity it trimmed by as much as 15% on routes like New York- and Vancouver-Delhi, and reduce losses by an estimated $1.13 million per week.

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Personally, I doubt Beijing would be amenable to such a request. However, if India is willing to offer suitable concessions in other areas (lower investment barriers, for example) then it might be possible to work something out.
 
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