Belt and Road initiative Archives

Traditional crafts displayed beneath the tiled arches of a historic madrasa in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Credits: Mathieu Lemoine.

The Silk Road Paradigm and the Dilemma of In-Between

Support Novastan, the European Central Asia magazine By supporting Novastan, you are supporting the only English, French and German-language media specialising in Central Asia. We’re independent and we need your… [...]

Image by Lossi 36 / Julian Postulart / Canva

The story of the Xinjiang Kazakhs: silent suffering along the Belt and Road

Relations between Kazakhstan and China are deepening fast. As a linchpin in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, Astana hopes to pluck the fruits of this global infrastructure development strategy,… [...]

Xi Jinping upon his arrival in Xinjiang's capital Ürümqi, Photo: Xinhua

70 years of Xinjiang: Beijing celebrates and enacts new political doctrine

The 70th anniversary of Xinjiang, China’s Uyghur region, was celebrated with great fanfare in Ürümqi. The ceremony was marked by the presence of Xi Jinping, the first Chinese president… [...]