Is the Irtysh River the choke-free Arctic shipping gateway that China needs?

As conflicts around the world highlight the vulnerability of global shipping lanes, China and Russia are reportedly weighing the possibility of turning a vast river into an inland cargo route to the rest of the world. At the heart of this ambition is the 4,248km (2,640-mile) Irtysh River, which originates in China’s western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and runs through Kazakhstan before flowin