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Geopolitics

Why A Chinese-Russian Trade Agreement Was Dead On Arrival

The often-tense relationship between Beijing and Moscow has not been helped by a 2009 regional trade pact. Expectations on both sides have never been met, as the dispute came to a head at a recent economic forum in Siberia. One problem: China would rather

Russian Pavillion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo (KimonBerlin).
Russian Pavillion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo (KimonBerlin).

Worldcrunch NEWSBITES

IRKUTSK - Russian and Chinese officials appear on the verge of scrapping a regional trade agreement that was once hailed as a boon to both commerce and good neighborly relations.

The agreement, signed in 2009, was supposed to attract Chinese investment to eastern Russia, and was meant as a model for Russia's increased cooperation with its East Asian neighbors. But the pact, which had not been living up to expectations, may now be rescinded after a dispute erupted at an economic forum that ended Tuesday in the Siberian city of Irkutsk.

While acknowledging that some of its own slated projects had been poorly planned, Russian leaders complained that China was not committed to economically investing in its western neighbor. Russian officials claimed that China commits eight times less investment in Russia than in Africa. Chinese officials responded by saying that the investment climate was simply better in China than Russia.

The two countries apparently signed on to the agreement with very different expectations. The Russians hoped to develop a high-tech industry in the eastern reaches of their country, with help from Chinese investment; while the Chinese see their cooperation with Russia as an opportunity to extract raw materials for their transportation industry.

The two sides traded insults during the meeting in Irkutsk, each one blaming the other for unfulfilled promises. Regardless of who's to blame, the regional partnership is clearly not working for either county, and will likely be a point of discussion during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit next month to Shanghai.

Read the original article in full in Russian by Alexander Gabuev

Photo - KimonBerlin

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Migrant Lives

What's Driving More Venezuelans To Migrate To The U.S.

With dimmed hopes of a transition from the economic crisis and repressive regime of Nicolas Maduro, many Venezuelans increasingly see the United States, rather than Latin America, as the place to rebuild a life..

Photo of a family of Migrants from Venezuela crossing the Rio Grande between Mexico and the U.S. to surrender to the border patrol with the intention of requesting humanitarian asylum​

Migrants from Venezuela crossed the Rio Grande between Mexico and the U.S. to surrender to the border patrol with the intention of requesting humanitarian asylum.

Julio Borges

-Analysis-

Migration has too many elements to count. Beyond the matter of leaving your homeland, the process creates a gaping emptiness inside the migrant — and outside, in their lives. If forced upon someone, it can cause psychological and anthropological harm, as it involves the destruction of roots. That's in fact the case of millions of Venezuelans who have left their country without plans for the future or pleasurable intentions.

Their experience is comparable to paddling desperately in shark-infested waters. As many Mexicans will concur, it is one thing to take a plane, and another to pay a coyote to smuggle you to some place 'safe.'

Venezuela's mass emigration of recent years has evolved in time. Initially, it was the middle and upper classes and especially their youth, migrating to escape the socialist regime's socio-political and economic policies. Evidently, they sought countries with better work, study and business opportunities like the United States, Panama or Spain. The process intensified after 2017 when the regime's erosion of democratic structures and unrelenting economic vandalism were harming all Venezuelans.

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