• KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09168 -0.11%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28490 0%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09168 -0.11%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28490 0%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09168 -0.11%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28490 0%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09168 -0.11%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28490 0%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09168 -0.11%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28490 0%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09168 -0.11%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28490 0%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09168 -0.11%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28490 0%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09168 -0.11%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28490 0%
05 December 2024

Viewing results 1 - 6 of 28

Amid Sanctions, China’s Xinjiang Strengthens Ties with Central Asia

China’s Xinjiang region is deepening its engagement with Pakistan and Central Asia as part of efforts to counter Western sanctions and bolster its role in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). On November 26, officials from Xinjiang met with their counterparts from Kazakhstan’s Zhetysu region for the first meeting under a new cross-border coordination mechanism. The discussions focused on cross-border tourism, infrastructure, market regulation, quarantine measures, and joint crime prevention. The meeting culminated in the signing of a memorandum on cross-border tourism. The discussions took place near the port of Khorgos, a critical hub for the China Railway Express, which connects China with Europe. Khorgos is home to China’s first cross-border cooperation center, where residents of neighboring countries can engage in business and shop visa-free. The center allows duty-free purchases of up to 8,000 yuan ($1,104) per day. Xinjiang Governor Erkin Tunyoz stressed the importance of strengthening ties with Zhetysu in areas such as trade, tourism, security, and agriculture. This cooperation is becoming increasingly crucial for Beijing as Xinjiang grapples with sanctions from the United States and other Western countries over alleged human rights abuses—a claim that China denies. Sanctions include the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which prohibits imports from Xinjiang suspected of being produced using forced labor. Similar measures have been implemented by Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. In addition to its collaboration with Kazakhstan, China has established a dialogue mechanism with the five Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Since 2020, foreign ministers from these nations have met annually to discuss logistics, trade, investment, agriculture, mining, and security. Li Lifan, a Central Asia scholar at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, described Xinjiang as a “bridgehead” for the BRI. He highlighted the region’s rich natural resources and its role as a base for major industries, including automobile manufacturing. In 2023, trade between Xinjiang and Central Asian countries surged by 50%, reaching 283 billion yuan ($39 billion). Despite these successes, Li cautioned about future challenges. He noted uncertainties surrounding potential Western secondary sanctions, geopolitical tensions, and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. Additionally, U.S.-China relations remain fraught, with further unpredictability anticipated under the leadership of Donald Trump. “Full economic development may only be achievable once global tensions ease,” he said.

A Synthesis of Sounds: How the Silk Road Became the Melting Pot of Music in the Soviet Empire

As a DJ, radio podcaster and music enthusiast, I love discovering hidden retro gems like Nuggets-style compilations. There is an unspoken agreement on an era’s sounds depending on the artist’s breaking into the mainstream at the time. Then there are the obscure cuts and one hit wonders that for some reason didn’t make it big upon release, but dated well or were ahead of their time and found an audience at a later date. On other occasions, it’s about geography; if it had been premiered in a different part of the world, it would have been successful or far more celebrated than it was. In my search for such sounds, I feel it shouldn’t be limited by location; good music has no boundaries. [caption id="attachment_25764" align="aligncenter" width="950"] Yalla band, commemorative stamp, Uzbekistan, 2021 [/caption] There are many compilations touching upon niche genres and moments in time which can transport one to sonically experience a particular era. As a Westerner trying to peek behind the Iron Curtain to gauge the music and arts scene of the 1970’s and 80’s, what flickered across the Cold War barriers seemed controlled, state-approved, and mostly a mystery. It was a delight to learn that under this supposed monochromic blanket, a dynamic underground music scene was flourishing in regions that had a long history of cultural fusion. SYNTHESIZING THE SILK ROADS: Uzbek Disco, Tajik Folktronica, Uyghur Rock & Crimean Tatar Jazz from 1980s Soviet Central Asia features musicians from countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan, who were creating a unique sound that stood apart from anything else being produced in the USSR. TCA spoke to Ostinato record label boss Vik Sohonie about the release. TCA: How does this statement by Peter Frankopan quoted in your liner notes - “The bridge between east and west is the very crossroads of civilization” - relate to or define the music you chose? The music itself is the greatest evidence we have to this argument, because you can hear the cultures of Europe, South Asia, East Asia, West Asia - the Middle East - all mixed into it. Indeed, Central Asia was influenced by all of these regions musically given its unique geography, but it has also influenced the cultures of so many of those parts of the world. During the era of the Silk Roads and the "golden age" of the region, its musical theory, as stated in the liner notes, influenced the music of Europe. [caption id="attachment_25766" align="aligncenter" width="2172"] Natalia Nurumkhamedova album cover[/caption] TCA: How did World War II and Stalin create the circumstances behind the Tashkent and Uzbekistan scene? When the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin put the best and brightest minds on trains bound for Soviet Central Asia, mainly Uzbekistan and its capital, Tashkent. There were recording engineers on board who went on to set up one of the biggest press plants in the Soviet Union that produced millions of records. A little-known story of World War II - the evacuation from the Eastern...

Daughter accepts European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for jailed Uyghur scholar

BISHKEK (TCA) — Ilham Tohti's daughter Jewher Ilham accepted the 2019 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought during the ceremony in Strasbourg on December 18 on behalf of her jailed father, the European Parliament reported on its website. Continue reading

Xinjiang government head boasts counter-terrorism, deradicalization efforts

BISHKEK (TCA) — The head of the government of China’s Xinjiang, at a press conference in Beijing on December 9, said the region is determined in counter-terrorism, deradicalization and maintaining development, Xinhua news agency reported. Continue reading

China firmly opposes US House bill on Xinjiang issues

BISHKEK (TCA) — The US House of Representatives on December 3 approved a bill that would require the Trump administration to impose sanctions on senior Chinese officials over allegations of mistreatment of China's Uighur ethnic minority. To become law, the bill must pass the US Senate and then be sent to US President Donald Trump, Sputnik news agency reported. Continue reading

US blacklists Chinese companies, organizations over ‘repression’ in Xinjiang

BISHKEK (TCA) — The United States has blacklisted 28 Chinese organizations for their alleged involvement in "human rights violations and abuses" against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in China's far western region of Xinjiang, RFE/RL reports. Continue reading