Silk Road

The Russian-China Polar Silk Road Challenges British Geopolitics

The dream of Governor Gilpin and Tsar Nicholas II to unite both worlds new and old with rail will occur, as long as the west chooses to take history seriously and not sleepwalk into world war once more.
Whether the Arctic will become a platform for cooperation or warfare has been a question often posed throughout the past 150 years.

Italy joins China’s Silk Road Initiative

Chinese President Xi Jinping has been seeking to expand the number of countries joining the Silk Road [Archive]
China has hailed the beginning of a new era in ties with Italy following President Xi Jinping’s visit to Rome on the weekend.
Xi met with Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and the two presided over a ceremony to sign a memorandum of understanding making Italy the first G7 country to join the One Belt One Road initiative, despite US protests over the move.

Analysis: China’s Silk Road Eyes G7 Nations

Russian and Chinese Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping at the Kremlin, Russia on 4 July 2017. The Silk Road runs through parts of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and aligns with Russia’s strategic interests [PPIO]Thirteenth Century adventurer and explorer Marco Polo opened Europe to China when he journeyed from his home in Venice to then capital Peking (now Beijing).
He chronicled his trip on the legendary Silk Road in a series of writings which introduced Europeans to the splendor and wealth of China.

DOLLAR BLOW: China Launches New ‘Yuan-Ruble’ Payment Mechanism

The US received a major blow to its global hegemony, and one which is sure to trigger more fighting talk from hawks in Washington.
This week it was announced that China has established a ‘payment versus payment‘ (PVP) system to clear Chinese yuan and Russian ruble transactions. The aim, we’re told, is to to “reduce risks and improve the efficiency” of its foreign exchange system.