Articles
Huawei in Poland and Hungary. Could it be a part of 5G?
Since the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, Huawei has achieved a leading position on the markets of the Visegrád Group, both in terms of digital infrastructure and mobile devices. During Donald Trump’s presidency (2017-2021), the US authorities made extensive diplomatic efforts to eliminate Huawei from the European Union’s (EU) 5G infrastructure, pointing to political and intelligence threats and the company’s cooperation with the Communist Party of China.
Rosneft Plans to Sell Some Deposits Amid Costly Vostok Oil Project
Rosneft plans to sell depleted assets to streamline the company and raise funds for its priority project Vostok Oil, according to sources in the Russian crude industry. Many signs are that some of the latest official and unofficial news might be a deliberate leak from Rosneft.
U.S.-Russia Navy Incident in the North Pacific
Moscow accused the United States of violating its border after the USS John McCain had sailed into what Russia believed to be its territorial waters. The United States does not hide that the incident was a deliberate move to show that the gulf belongs to international waters. This marked the latest navy incident in the North Pacific in the vicinity of both countries.
Russia Pours Money Into Iraqi Oilfields
Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft announced an increase in the production capacity in Iraqi Kurdistan – the region where it has invested most so far. Moscow’s ever-stronger position in the Kurdish energy industry offers Russia bigger leverage over the government in Baghdad.
Turmoil over TurkStream Loan: Is Serbian Leg of the Pipeline In Danger?
The Serbian government has made a last-minute decision to remove from the parliamentary agenda a bill envisaging state guarantees on loans for the construction of a Serbian leg of the Russian TurkStream gas pipeline. Media outlets make speculations over political pressure from the U.S. as the country opposes the pipeline while Serbia’s pro-Russian president says the venture will be ready on time.
OPEC+ Stutters Over Oil Cut Deal, Russia’s Sechin Forecasts Oil Prices
There are discrepancies over the situation on the energy market and forecasts for the next year, according to crude oil producers. This delayed the OPEC+ decision on what actions to perform throughout Q1 2021.
Moldova’s Sandu on Withdrawing Russian Forces from Transnistria
There are already first signs of Moldova’s political shifts after the Russian-preferred president Igor Dodon missed out on the vote. When discussing the potential solution to the Transnistria issue, the country’s president-elect Maia Sandu said it is absolutely necessary to remove Russian forces from the region.
Beijing is Betting on Large Agglomerations
Since the launch of its opening reforms of 1978, China has gone through a rapid urbanization process. This has resulted in an increase in the percentage of the population living in cities from less than 19% to over 60% in 2019, i.e. by more than 500 million people. Available projections indicate that this is only halfway to the point. At the centenary of the establishment of the PRC (2049) the rate of urbanization is expected to be between 75% and 80%.
Bulgaria Blocks EU Accession Negotiations with North Macedonia
North Macedonia, which is aspiring to join the European Union (EU), had to face the challenges of complicated relations with its neighbors, especially Greece and Bulgaria. These countries have difficulty in recognizing the statehood or ethnicity of their neighbor in the north and west respectively.
Sechin’s “Steel” Business Raises Serious Doubts
Rosneft seeks to build a large metal plant in the Far East to supply steel sheet to the Zvezda shipbuilding yard. The thing is yet that construction of the former will cost more than that of the latter. The mere idea raises severe doubts while possibly being another example of how Igor Sechin’s oil company might embezzle public money.
Russia As Hydrogen Giant? Deputy Energy Minister Reveals Optimism
Russia may soon export far bigger volumes of hydrogen than those outlined in a new government policy by 2035, according to the country’s Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin. The government blueprint forecasts 2 million tons of hydrogen per year.
Lavrov Visits Minsk: Russia Wants Lukashenko to Implement Commitments
During Sergey Lavrov’s latest visit to Minsk, both parties delivered some declarations on the solid Russian-Belarus alliance. However – and perhaps above all – with this trip, Russia sought to remind Alexander Lukashenko of what commitments he had made at the September meeting with Vladimir Putin in Sochi.
In the Interest of the Kremlin? Russian Oligarch Creates Far-Right Movement
Konstantin Malofeev has been around in Russian politics since at least 2014 when he gained notoriety for the vital role he had played in financing separatists in Crimea and Donbas. Now he is setting his sight on forming a social movement, possibly to help monitor far-right moods that have been on the rise in Russia.
China is Aging at a Rapid Pace
At the end of 2019, the number of Chinese citizens aged over 60 exceeded 254 million, which translates into 18.1% of the population. This number is expected to rise to 300 million in 2025 and 400 million in 2035. Among scientists there is a consensus that the process of population ageing will accelerate rapidly in the coming decades, resulting in a number of difficulties for the Chinese economic and pension systems.
