China in Central Asia

30 years on from the dissolution of the USSR, Central Asian states are a case study in hedging and balancing between global superpowers.

The possibility for the SCO to be used as a vehicle to promote a more authoritarian worldview can be seen in the way the language of Beijing’s counterterror policy is paralleled in SCO policy.

Increased conflict between Kyrgyz citizens and Chinese mining companies highlights the necessity of more careful cooperation.

A prominent Russian analyst thinks the high point of Sino-Russian cooperation has passed.

Central Asian governments might be cozy with Beijing, but Central Asian people continue to protest China's rising influence.

The Uzbek state plays a huge role in the country’s economy, generating difficulties for foreign investors trying to operate in Uzbekistan.

The land code protests of 2016 were a rare occurrence and yielded a rare outcome: a shift in state policy.

How ineffective foreign investment and corrupt state elites pose a threat to the sovereignty of Central Asia’s poorest nation.

How Chinese policy and commercial banks are behaving operationally in their foreign lending activities is shifting, but not necessarily diminishing.

In Beijing’s pursuit of shifting its trade and energy dependencies from sea to land, Nur-Sultan is a necessary partner.

An instrument of domestic repression now doubles as a diplomatic tool.

China and Russia are partners in Central Asia, but their cooperative efforts are not as robust as they often claim.