China’s Shadow Looms Over Trump’s Summit With Central Asian Leaders

US President Donald Trump speaks at the American Business Forum at the Kaseya Center in Miami on November 5, 2025. (Photo by Chandan Khanna / AFP)

U.S. President Donald Trump will host all five Central Asian leaders in Washington on Thursday, marking the first time they have been gathered together. This comes just a few months after they held separate summits with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The West has increased its interest in the resource-rich region, where Moscow’s traditional influence has been questioned since the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, and where China is also a major player.

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by Agence France-Presse

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