Belt And Road Weekly Investor Intelligence #120           

Tuesday, February 14, 2023          

Compiled by Chris Devonshire-Ellis      

China is enhancing trade and investment ties with Iran and Ecuador, while Hong Kong is looking at a UAE free trade agreement. Russia is picking up energy infrastructure projects in ASEAN and making inroads into Saudi Arabia, while simultaneously boosting its foreign reserves. Russian railway volumes heading east were larger than those heading west for the first time as global trade dynamics continued to shift towards Asia.

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 CHINA

China-Iran Trade Up, But Trends Are With Beijing As Raisi Looks To Xi For Fast Tracking 25-Year Cooperation Investment Agreement

Iran’s non-oil trade turnover with China amounted to US$25.3 billion, during the first 10 months of the current Iranian year. That equates to the Iran-China non-oil monthly trade sector value at US$2.53 billion. It also means that China ranks first in Iran’s non-oil trade as Iran’s President is set to discuss trade with Xi Jinping.

China–Ecuador Free Trade Agreement Moves Closer

https://www.silkroadbriefing.com/news/2023/02/08/china-ecuador-free-trade-agreement-moves-closer/

In recent years, driven by bilateral relations and Chinese investment and financing, Chinese enterprises have actively participated in the development of local infrastructure such as electricity, transportation, petroleum, and mining, and strategic areas such as oil and mining, as well as the construction of hospitals, housing, schools, and other infrastructure projects.

ASEAN

Russia Takes Up Some China BRI Funding Projects To Move ASEAN Energy Generation Forward

Russia and Myanmar have signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the nuclear sector that envisages the creation of a low-capacity nuclear power plant, Russia’s state Rosatom nuclear power corporation has stated. Russian nuclear energy technologies will be used to power Myanmar rail with the potential for other ASEAN and Asian countries to follow suit.

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi-Russia Bilateral Trade Targeted At US$5 Billion

The Russian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Sergey Kozlov has said that there is plenty of room for growth in bilateral trade between Russia and Saudi Arabia and that the two countries intend to reach an initial target of US$5 billion.

China’s 2023 Trade and Investment with Iran: Development Trends

The President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi will pay a state visit to China from February 14 to 16. Iran’s foreign policy is often misrepresented. This includes its relations with China, where trade increased by 7% in 2022 over 2021. Yet there have been tensions concerning China’s relationships with other Middle Eastern nations while Iran itself is under sanctions and domestic protest stresses. Raisi’s visit will attempt to alleviate some of the sticking points.

Dubai Opens Hong Kong Trade Office, Eye On Free Trade Agreement

The Dubai International Chamber of Commerce has announced the establishment of its new international office in Hong Kong, to drive mutual economic and business growth. The UAE is the largest trading partner for Hong Kong in the Middle East – non-oil trade between the UAE and Hong Kong reached Dhs22.2 billion (US$6 billion) in the first half of 2022, with year-on-year growth of 16.2%.

UAE Grants Operating License To Russia’s MTS Bank

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has granted a license to Russia’s MTS Bank, which will allow Russian nationals to open personal and business accounts in the UAE. MTS Bank is registered in Abu Dhabi and received the license last year. We can provide on-the-ground assistance.

RUSSIA

Russia’s Rail Freight Volumes Heading East Exceed Westbound Freight For The First Time

Russia’s Eastbound rail freight shipments exceeded westbound shipments for the first time in 2022, at 80 million tonnes compared with 76 million tonnes in 2021, according to Russian Railways (RZD) Chairman Oleg Belozerov. Sustainable, significant commodities demand is keeping Russian Railways on track for servicing Asian consumption.

Russia Now Has World’s Fourth Largest Gold Reserves and Foreign Exchange Assets

Russia is now ranked in the global top four countries in terms of gold and foreign exchange reserves with a total of US$582 billion. These indicators are based on the analysis of data from various Central Banks and include the top five in China, Japan, Switzerland, and India. The United States in comparison has low reserves and US$31 trillion of debt. We examine what this means and why the Russian reserves are growing.

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