https://www.scmp.com/rss/327055/feed Sabena Siddiqi is a foreign affairs journalist with a special focus on the Belt and Road Initiative, the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor and South Asia. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Recently, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan announced they would revive the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad (ITI) railway, a project launched in 2009. Despite several test runs, the railway link had not become fully operational. At the Economic Cooperation Organisation transport and communications ministers meeting held virtually last month, Turkish Transport Minister Adil Karaismailoglu announced that the project would be relaunched this year. After finalising tariff rates and a timetable, the service will... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3118348/chinas-belt-and-road-whats-holding-trains-pakistan-turkey-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3118348/chinas-belt-and-road-whats-holding-trains-pakistan-turkey-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Jan 2021 10:45:12 +0000 Himalayan pink salt has caught the imagination of health nuts the world over, but where it comes from has now become a political issue. The salt is estimated to have formed hundreds of millions of years ago, when ancient bodies of water evaporated; it is mostly mined from the Khewra Salt Mine in the foothills of the Salt Range in Jhelum, in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Pakistan never considered pink salt a prized product, much less a matter of national prestige and sovereignty, until this... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3038769/himalayan-pink-salt-was-never-source-pakistani-pride-then-it-became?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3038769/himalayan-pink-salt-was-never-source-pakistani-pride-then-it-became?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Nov 2019 07:30:03 +0000 As more countries turn towards clean energy, the geoeconomic impact of natural gas as a fuel has become second only to that of oil. Over the past decade, the global demand for this carbon-free energy source has risen considerably and one major buyer is China. The third largest global market for natural gas, China has implemented government policies to replace the use of coal as fuel and millions of households are switching over to clean energy. Consequently, China’s market for gas expanded by a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3012002/chinas-growing-demand-clean-energy-and-natural-gas-sparks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3012002/chinas-growing-demand-clean-energy-and-natural-gas-sparks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 May 2019 03:30:05 +0000 Drawing the oil-rich Arab states towards the East, China’s geo-economic interests have taken on an interesting new dimension recently. As one of the fastest growing global economies today, dependable energy sources are crucial for keeping China’s 6 per cent growth sustainable. Having cut down on coal, China requires even more oil and gas and it now consumes 30 per cent of the global hydro-carbon supply. Possessing minimal domestic energy reserves, China is compelled to ensure a steady supply... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2188135/middle-east-pivot-china-and-neighbouring-markets-win-win?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2188135/middle-east-pivot-china-and-neighbouring-markets-win-win?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Mar 2019 06:33:41 +0000 Having broken records for monthly box-office sales in a single market, China is rapidly moving towards becoming the world’s biggest box office on the back of new film trends. Overtaking the US in February 2018, the Chinese box office raked in 10.1 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) at a time when domestic films were dominating screens.  Apparently, Hollywood films are not in high demand any more, as they were not responsible for the booming numbers. Proving this point, in March when there were no... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2145166/how-bollywood-giving-hollywood-run-its-money-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2145166/how-bollywood-giving-hollywood-run-its-money-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 May 2018 09:30:00 +0000