Journal of International Studies

By Bakyt Asanov and Farangis Najibullah 

President Xi Jinping's latest, highly ambitious tour through the Central Asian republics [in September] took regional political circles by surprise. From the points of view of Central Asian capitals, it seems clear that Beijing is marching through Moscow's turf in Central Asia, forging close ties by offering more money and less meddling compared with the Kremlin's often troublesome integration schemes. However, the cordial ties between Beijing and Central Asian regimes stand in sharp contrast to popular attitudes to China.  Local media, opposition groups and popular opinion are often skeptical of China's rising presence in Central Asia. While there is variation among the region's post-Soviet republics, certain themes reappear - concern about the inflow of Chinese labor, disputes about land and territory and skepticism about the management of commercial deals.  The people of these countries experience opportunities merged with anxiety and antagonism. Rea...

Much has been made of  China’s re-engagement with Central Asia . While others have commented on what China wants in the region, or why it is elevating its relations with the Central Asian republics, perhaps there is a more important question: Why now? Why has China made Central Asia a priority in 2013, and not last year, or the year before? China has always sought new access to resources, or to new trading partners, this is not new. China had previously agreed with Turkmenistan   to build a natural gas pipeline to China in 2006. I suggest there are three reasons why China has chosen to deepen engagement with its Central Asian neighbors at this time: the selection of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) by a consortium of European energy companies; the 2014 NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan; and to increase competition with leverage against Russia. For some time now, Europe has sought Caspian Sea and Central Asian natural gas as a means to diversify away from Russia as its m...

A new wave of Chinese investment in Central Asia is turning the region's focus from Russia toward the east.  In a far-ranging regional tour, President Xi Jinping swept through four Central Asian nations in September, bringing billions of dollars in energy and other deals. Xi's 10-day diplomatic circuit included summit meetings of the Group of 20 (G-20) leading economies in St Petersburg and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek.  But the visits, beginning and ending in Central Asia, underscored the rising importance of the region to Beijing. In Turkmenistan, Xi sealed an agreement to boost China's gas imports by over 60%, raising Turkmen supplies to 65 billion cubic  meters annually by 2016. In Kazakhstan, Xi marked China's plans to acquire a share in the giant Kashagan oilfield for US$5 billion as part of a package of contracts valued at some $30 billion. In Uzbekistan, China agreed on building a fourth strand of its Central ...

Amid an unprecedented flurry of energy deals, Beijing strengthens alliances on Russia’s backdoor but struggles to keep Xinjiang as happy. Even by Chinese standards, the scale of September's natural gas deal with Turkmenistan was significant. Standing side by side in the oasis city of Mary in the Karakum Desert, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov marked the completion of the first phase of the world’s second-largest gas field with warm smiles and yet further cooperation. A new deal signed on the same day will see  Turkmenistan deliver 65 billion cubic meters of natural gas  through the world’s longest pipeline by 2016, an increase of 25 billion cubic meters. The Galkynysh field is “another fine example of bilateral energy cooperation for mutual benefits,” Xi was quoted as  saying  in the state-run  China Daily . In an unprecedented tour also locking in energy deals with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajik...