On 17 November 2017, Dourges rail station in northern France welcomed the first freight train containing only Decathlon brand products imported from China. This train, which left Wuhan on October 28 in Hubei Province, took less than 20 days to
Panama, a new stopover on the Silk Road
On November 17, 2017, Panama’s President Juan Carlos Varela met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang during a state visit to China. The two presidents signed a cooperation agreement under the “Belt and Road” initiative. Thanks to
The Caucasus route
A new route through Caucasus may be added to the various corridors of the Belt and Road initiative. In April 2017, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia signed a protocol on a future Trans-Caspian International Transport route. Other regional states such as
FCPAE Europe Forum: Belt and Road session
On September 25-26, 2017, the 9th FCPAE Europe Forum organized by the AFCDUD (Association Franco-Chinoise du Développement Urbain Durable, French-Chinese Association for Sustainable Urban Development) was held in Issy-Les Moulineaux near Paris. The main theme of this event was “Smart City
Macron, Europe and the BRI
In his first speech to the Ambassadors on August 29, 2017, President Emmanuel Macron mentioned China’s Belt and Road initiative, which he described as a major geopolitical project. He called for the deepening of the Franco-Chinese partnership and called on
The new “Belt and Road” media cooperation center
On September 19, 2017, 300 media from 127 countries attended the Belt and Road Media Forum in Dunhuang, in China’s Gansu province. During the event, Yang Zhenwu, president of People’s Daily announced the launch of an international cooperation center for
BRI under discussion at the UNWTO conference in Chengdu
From 11 September to 16 September, the 22nd General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization is held in Chengdu, Sichuan. During this session, stakeholders focus on solutions to develop sustainable tourism. The Belt and Road initiative was one of the
A Belt and Road initiative research programme at Oxford
On September 13, 2017, the University of Oxford inaugurated the first research programme dedicated to the Belt and Road initiative in Europe. This program led by Prof. Denis Galligan, Faculty of Law, will focus on the laws and trade agreements
One Belt, One Road…No Cheese
Since September 2017, several European cheeses such as Camembert and Brie have been blocked at Chinese borders by sanitary authorities. Authorities have revised their criteria and no longer allow the importation of certain types of cheese such as soft cheese,
Luxembourg to be BRI financial place in the EU
The Chinese group “Legend Holdings” is about to buy 90% of “Banque internationale à Luxembourg” (Bil, International Bank in Luxembourg) from Qatar’s Precision Capital. The announcement was made on September 1, 2017. To be finalized, this 1.5 billion euro acquisition