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Central Asian Insecurities

This chapter discusses the intersection of Chinese, Russian, and Central Asian interests in the context of China’s expanding Eurasian presence. It introduces a brief history of China’s relations with Central Asia and Russia. It describes how China has deepened its economic ties, especially with respect to the energy (oil and gas) trade and overland transportation infrastructure. It explains how Kazakhstan’s political economy is defined by illiberal strongman rule, patronage politics, and ethnic cleavages influences, and is likely to be influenced by China’s involvement. It describes how China and Russia share similar global aims, not least in resisting aspects of US leadership, which has contributed to the unusually close ties between presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. However, it also finds that the increasing power asymmetry between China and Russia, along with Moscow’s reduced influence in Central Asia, will likely introduce tensions between them over time.