• East Asia

    China expects closer cooperation with India under SCO framework

    (Xinhua) — China is looking forward to enhancing cooperation with its neighbor India under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Chinese President Xi Jinping said here on June 23. Xi made the remarks while meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of this year’s SCO summit scheduled…

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  • East Asia

    Chinese, Uzbek leaders hail inauguration of Central Asia’s longest railway tunnel

    (Xinhua) — Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Uzbek counterpart, Islam Karimov, on Wednesday hailed the inauguration of the Qamchiq Tunnel in Uzbekistan, saying it is a major achievement of the Belt and Road Initiative. The two leaders watched via video link the opening of the 19.2-km railway tunnel,…

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  • Central Asia

    Moscow Ranking for Expat Living Costs Falls 65 Places

    Moscow has dropped 17 spots in this year’s rankings of most expensive cities in the world for foreigners, a report by the Mercer Human Resource consulting group said on June 22. The change in rank has been driven largely by the ruble’s dramatic fall in value against the U.S. dollar.…

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  • Central Asia

    Military exercise involving 50 aircraft begins in western Russia

    The drills involve Sukhoi Su-34 bombers, Su-27 and MiG-29SMT fighters, about 300 motor vehicles on the ground and 1,500 troops, TASS reports. More than 50 warplanes and helicopters of the Western military district have begun to redeploy to tactical airfields under the just-started exercise, the district’s spokesman Igor Muginov told…

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  • East Asia

    China, Uzbekistan to boost strategic partnership

    Xinhua – China and Uzbekistan upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership on June 22 after talks between visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Uzbek counterpart, Islam Karimov, The two countries also outlined the cooperation plan for their new partnership in such areas as political mutual trust and…

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  • Central Asia

    Kyrgyzstan Approves Bill Banning Foreign Media Ownership

    Parliament of Kyrgyzstan has prepared initial approval to a bill banning foreign individuals and organizations from owning and establishing media outlets in the country. The proposed legislation also bans activities in the country of media outlets financially supported by foreign countries, RFERL reports. Lawmakers approved the first reading of the…

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  • East Asia

    China Imports Record Volume of Russian Oil

    China increased its imports of Russian oil to a record of 5.2 million tons in May — roughly 1.24 million barrels every day, the Reuters news agency reported Tuesday. In annual terms, China’s oil imports from Russia in May rose by 33.7 percent, Reuters reported, citing data from the Chinese…

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  • East Asia

    Xi urges prioritization of China-CEE ties in China-EU partnerships

    By Zhao Cheng from People’s Daily Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated the significance of cooperation between Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and China, also known as “16+1 cooperation,” in China-EU partnerships during his meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic last Saturday, the second day of his three-nation trip.…

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  • Central Asia

    EU to extend anti-Russia sanctions

    European Union agreed to extend economic sanctions against Russia until late January 2017. According to Sputnik, the summit of EU leaders is scheduled for June 28-29. Extending the EU economic sanctions against Russia, which are due to expire in July, is likely to be on the summit’s agenda. Relations between…

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  • South Asia

    Kazakhstan’s trade with CAREC countries reaches $22 billion

    The volume of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and the countries of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) increased from 17.5 to 22 billion dollars from 2010 to 2015, Vice-Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan Timur Zhaksylykov has said today during I Forum of the analytical centers of Central Asia.…

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