STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Via Communist Internet... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] . . ----- Original Message ----- From: Downwithcapitalism <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, June 17, 2001 3:33 AM Subject: [downwithcapitalism] New Silk Road? Agence France Presse. 16 June 2001.Silk Road oil resources a lucrative draw for China, Russia. Excerpts. SHANGHAI -- Caravans may once again journey along the Silk Road, but in coming years they are more likely to hold Chinese engineers seeking to tap the rich natural resources of former Communist states along the ancient trade route rather than silk traders. The leaders of China, Russia and four central Asian states met in Shanghai last week united by a growing threat from Islamic militancy in the region, and their need to deepen economic ties. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) -- comprising Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan -- was set up in 1996 as a security mechanism but is now setting its sights on trade as both Russia and China look to counterbalance growing American investment in the region. As the balance of geopolitical power continues to shift over the next decade, oil, gas and mineral deposits in the central Asian states will prove increasingly attractive. And for Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan the need to attract foreign funds to rebuild their shattered economies and stem growing domestic dissatisfaction will become ever more pressing. The Central Asian nations hope that by going along with Sino-Russian security concerns they can attract much-needed investment, said a Beijing-based Central Asian diplomat. In particular they are looking for Chinese investment in the energy sector such as a 2.4-billion-dollar oil pipeline from northeast Kazakhstan to China's northeastern Xinjiang region. For China, finding more energy to fuel economic growth will become increasingly important. "China is going to need resources as it grows and the obvious place to get those resources is Central Asia," said Bob Broadfoot of the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy in Hong Kong. Having access to oil resources on its doorstep and thus being less dependent on imported oil from the Gulf States, in the shadow of American influence, also makes sense for China strategically. Prime ministers from the six SCO states will meet in September to set an economic agenda, and utilising energy resources is likely to be at the top. "China and Russia and Kazakhstan have been discussing energy cooperation for some time and China wants to expand that cooperation to other countries," said Professor Xie Yishen, at the Chinese Institute of International Relations' Russia Centre in Beijing. Xie said regional cooperation has so far made progress, citing the 60 percent stake China already has in a Kazakh oil field. * * * * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
