China in Central Asia

China has now forged comprehensive strategic partnerships with all the Central Asian states. 

Central Asia is becoming more and more crucial to China’s interests, and Beijing’s recent diplomacy reflects that.

Under the September 14 agreement, the three parties will jointly fund a feasibility study of a proposed route through Kyrgyzstan necessary to bring the CKU Railway into being.

While the meeting with Putin stole headlines, Xi’s trips to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are about far more than Russia.

Chinese interests in expanding its engagement in Afghanistan lies in opportunist thinking.

The China-Russia soft power rivalry in Uzbekistan plays out most clearly via language and education programs.

Uzbekistan is leveraging its partnership with China to address the logistical and geographic challenges it faces.

Even as China’s economic influence expands, a credibility gap looms in Central Asia.

An interview with Raffaello Pantucci about China’s rise, as seen through Beijing’s engagements in Central Asia.

China’s interests in Kazakhstan appear unaffected. As the Kazakhstani regime seeks economic growth and may tighten repression, Beijing's importance could grow.

Despite its economic clout in Kazakhstan, Beijing has had far less political leverage than Moscow.