Country: Kazakhstan
Related Posts
China Moves to Diversify Food Imports, Deepening Agricultural Ties With the Global South
By Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson China will stabilize grain and oilseed output, diversify agricultural imports and increase support for farmers, state media reported on Tuesday, citing a government rural policy blueprint aimed at ensuring food security.
Related Posts
Why the Belt and Road Is Back in a Big Way
There's been a lot of discussion in recent years about the financial health of China's Belt and Road Initiative. Critics contend the BRI became overstretched, bankrupting borrowers and straining creditors suffering from a weakening Chinese economy.
China’s Belt and Road Roars Back, Defying Predictions of a Smaller, Quieter Era
Just a few of years ago, Chinese authorities signaled that the days of massive spending on Belt and Road Initiative projects were over and that a new, more austere era, known as "small yet beautiful" (小而美), would become the norm. New ...
China-Central Asia in 2026: From Resource Access to Structured Interdependence
2025 marked an important inflection point in China-Central Asia relations. Not because China’s presence in the region was new, since Beijing has been a significant economic actor for more than a decade, but because the composition and structure of that engagement began to change in more visible ...
China’s Central Asia Push Runs Into Local Resistance
Official Chinese narratives have long depicted relations with Central Asian countries as uniformly friendly and mutually beneficial. Diplomatically, that image largely holds. Yet recent discussions on the Chinese internet suggest a more complicated reality on the ground where China’s growing economic footprint is increasingly met with local ...
Japan Targets Central Asia’s Critical Minerals in Bid to Reduce Reliance on China
Japan unveiled a five-year goal on Saturday for business projects totalling $19 billion in Central Asia as Tokyo vies for influence in the resource-rich region. The announcement came after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hosted an inaugural summit with the leaders of ...
The Perception Problem: Why Central Asians Remain Skeptical of Chinese Investment
Over the past decade, China has poured billions into the Central Asian countries, financing infrastructure, renewable energy, agriculture, and digital technologies, while presenting itself as a reliable development partner. Central Asian governments, eager for investment and diversification, have embraced China as a strategic ally in trade and ...
China-Central Asia Weekly News: New Seaport Development, BYD Battery Localization in Uzbekistan, and Healthcare Cooperation
This is a free preview of the upcoming Critical Minerals Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in 2026. Chinese engagement with Central Asia is advancing through a combination of transport infrastructure development, automotive industry expansion, and medical ...
China-Central Asia Weekly News: Managing Friction, Sanctions, and Local Benefits
This is a free preview of the upcoming Critical Minerals Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in 2026. Chinese engagement in Central Asia is facing several friction points that highlight the social and geopolitical complexities behind its ...
An Exhibition of ‘Civilizations’ in Beijing, and the Narrative China Is Quietly Writing
By Felix Brender 王哲謙 The Where Civilizations Meet exhibition at Beijing’s National Museum of China drew to a close this month. Showcasing artifacts from member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, it was, at least on the surface, a celebration ...
China’s Premier Import Expo Creates More Space for Global South, But Hurdles Remain
The China International Import Expo (CIIE), which concluded early this week, was mainly taken as a litmus test of Beijing’s trade relations with conventional partners amid ongoing tariff disputes. Chinese importers signed $83.5 billion in import deals at the expo in Shanghai. ...
China’s Shadow Looms Over Trump’s Summit With Central Asian Leaders
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.
Digital Silk Road 2.0: How China Is Shaping Central Asia’s AI Ecosystem
The race for artificial intelligence supremacy is now global. As the United States and China compete to define the future of AI, their rivalry increasingly shapes how they engage with the rest of the world. Washington leans on alliances and export ...
Turning Trash into Treasure: Chinese Waste-to-Energy Projects in Central Asia
Since the 1990s, energy has been at the heart of China’s engagement with Central Asia. What began with oil and gas pipelines has, in recent years, expanded into solar and wind, reflecting Beijing’s push toward greener development. Now, a new frontier is opening: waste-to-energy (WtE).
Beijing’s Golden Gambit: China’s Strategic Push into Central Asian Gold Markets
China’s footprint in Central Asia’s mineral wealth is deepening, with gold emerging as a strategic priority alongside critical minerals. While Beijing’s investments in copper, lithium, and rare earths are widely viewed as essential to sustaining its industrial base, its push ...
China-Central Asia Weekly News: Building Skills and Local Capacity
This is a free preview of the upcoming China-Central Asia Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in 2026. China's engagement with Central Asia is entering a new phase that extends far beyond the traditional Belt and ...
Localizing Cautiously: BYD’s Strategic Approach to Kazakhstan’s EV Market
Kazakhstan has long courted electric vehicle makers to localize passenger car production, hoping to follow in Uzbekistan’s footsteps. Yet the real breakthrough may come from a different direction. Chinese electric vehicle manufacturing giant BYD’s plan to start with buses—rather than cars—marks a subtle but ...
China–Central Asia Weekly Digest: Vocational Training, Cultural Centers & Governance Programs
This is a free preview of the upcoming China-Central Asia Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in late 2025. This week’s developments highlight how China is deepening its engagement with Central Asian societies through education, culture, and ...
China-Central Asia Weekly Digest: China Brings E-Commerce, EVs & Health Closer to Consumers
This is a free preview of the upcoming China-Central Asia Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in late 2025. This week's developments demonstrate China's expansion into consumer-facing sectors across Central Asia, moving beyond infrastructure projects into direct ...
China’s Belt and Road Recalibration: Why Kazakhstan is the New Metals Frontier
Despite widespread expectations that China’s engagement with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries would slow, recent data tells a different story. According to a new report from the Griffith Asia Institute, Chinese involvement in the 150 BRI countries surged in the first half of 2025, reaching ...
How Beijing is Deepening Stakes in Kazakhstan’s Energy Value Chain
China’s growing presence in Kazakhstan’s energy sector marks a strategic evolution that extends far beyond traditional resource extraction. While Beijing has long focused on upstream oil and gas operations to secure energy supplies, recent agreements—particularly those emerging from the Second China–Central Asia Summit—point to a more comprehensive ...
China-Central Asia Weekly Digest
This is a free preview of the upcoming Central Asia Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. This week's developments highlight the intersection of China's digital technology capabilities with Central Asia's urgent modernization requirements across financial ...
China-Central Asia Weekly Digest
This is a free preview of the upcoming Central Asia Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. This week's developments reveal Beijing's strategy to relocate manufacturing capacity while establishing itself as the region's primary technology provider ...
How China is Challenging Russia’s Nuclear Dominance in Central Asia Through Kazakhstan
Having reshaped Central Asia’s oil and gas infrastructure and challenged Russia’s long-standing dominance of the region’s traditional energy sector, China is now setting its sights on nuclear power as the next frontier. This next step is not just about energy diversification. ...
Moving Beyond Infrastructure: Key Outcomes from the Second China-Central Asia Summit
Amid intensifying geopolitical turbulence across China's periphery—from the Israel-Iran conflict in the Middle East, to India-Pakistan tensions in South Asia, and the protracted Russia-Ukraine war in Eastern Europe—Beijing's neighborhood diplomacy has become an imperative for safeguarding regional stability. In this shifting ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Russia, China Plan Joint Military Drills 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly said on Wednesday that Russia is planning joint military exercises with China in 2025. No details about the date and nature of the exercises were released. China and Russia last held joint exercises in September 2024 off Russia’s eastern coast. (REUTERS) ...
Q&A: Behind Xi’s “Eternal Friendship” Pitch in Central Asia
Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Astana this week for the second China–Central Asia Summit, meeting with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. At the summit, Xi emphasized China’s “eternal friendship” with the region and rolled out a slate of new initiatives, including cooperation ...
China’s Xi in Kazakhstan to Cement ‘Eternal’ Central Asia Ties
Xi Jinping celebrated China's "eternal friendship" with Central Asia at a summit in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, as the Chinese leader blasted tariffs and sought to assert Beijing's influence in a region historically dominated by Russia. The summit in Astana brought together ...
Kazakhstan in China’s EV Playbook: Market Boom Without Manufacturing?
As global trade tensions reshape the automotive industry, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers are executing a strategic pivot that reveals the adaptive nature of modern industrial policy. Faced with mounting tariffs and regulatory barriers in Western markets, Beijing's EV champions are turning eastward and southward, seeking new frontiers ...
Xi’s Central Asia Trip Responds to Global Pressures
China’s President Xi Jinping arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan on Monday for the China-Central Asia Summit, aimed at strengthening Beijing’s ties in the region. The summit will bring Xi together with his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The outreach comes ...
China’s Xi in Kazakhstan for Central Asia Summit
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Kazakhstan on Monday to attend the second China-Central Asia Summit. State news agency Xinhua reported at around 12:30 pm Kazakh time (0730 GMT) that the Chinese leader had touched down in the capital Astana.
China’s Xi Headed to Central Asia Summit in Kazakhstan: State Media
Chinese President Xi Jinping departed Beijing on Monday for Astana, Kazakhstan, where he will attend the second China-Central Asia Summit. Xi will hold bilateral meetings before the summit on Tuesday, Kazakhstan's presidency said. The heads ...
Kazakhstan Says China’s Xi to Visit for Central Asian Summit
Kazakhstan announced on Wednesday that China's President Xi Jinping would visit the country next week for a summit alongside former Soviet Central Asian partners. Xi is expected to arrive in Astana on June 16 for bilateral meetings before the Central Asia-China ...
Chinese Students Are Flocking to Central Asia for Master’s and PhD Degrees
In September 2024, Peng Ran, a former employee at a state-owned enterprise in China’s Shandong province, embarked on a three-day journey by train, bus, and multiple border checks to reach Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. His destination? A PhD program at Kazakhstan National University(KazNU).
India to Work with Central Asian Countries on Rare Earths
India has reportedly reached a collaboration agreement with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan for the exploration and development of rare earth minerals. The agreement, which was finalized at the recent India-Central Asia Dialogue in New Delhi, follows recent reports that ...
Kazakhstan to Dredge Port for Key China-EU Trade Route
Kazakhstan will start dredging part of the Caspian Sea around its main port to increase capacity for a crucial transport route linking Asia and Europe, a spokesperson told AFP on Monday. The Trans-Caspian trade route, also known as the "Middle Corridor", ...
Kazakhstan to Dredge Port for Key China-EU Trade Route
Kazakhstan will start dredging part of the Caspian Sea around its main port to increase capacity for a crucial transport route linking Asia and Europe, a spokesperson told AFP on Monday. The Trans-Caspian trade route, also known as the "Middle Corridor", ...
China’s May Day Tourists Flock to an Unlikely New Hotspot: Central Asia
Over the recent Labor Day holiday on May 1st, an unexpected destination emerged as a top choice for Chinese tourists venturing overseas: Central Asia. While Southeast Asia once dominated the list of overseas travel favorites, recent high-profile cases involving telecom fraud ...
China’s Eurasian Detour: Bypassing Russia, Dodging U.S. Sea Power
A once-overlooked trade route across the Eurasian landmass is now a key strategic priority for China in this new era of global uncertainty. The Middle Corridor—a multimodal network stretching from China’s western border through Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea, and into Europe via Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye—has ...
China’s Eurasian Detour: Bypassing Russia, Dodging U.S. Sea Power
A once-overlooked trade route across the Eurasian landmass is now a key strategic priority for China in this new era of global uncertainty. The Middle Corridor—a multimodal network stretching from China’s western border through Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea, and into Europe via Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye—has ...
Empty Promises, Open Doors: How U.S. Policy Opened the Way for China in Central Asia
By Yunis Sharifli, CGSP Non-Resident Fellow for Central Asia The Trump administration's tariffs are reshaping more than the U.S.’s trade balances—they’re redrawing geopolitical lines. Although the administration announced a pause on some tariffs this morning, the broader strategic and regional effects ...
China Replaces Russia in Kazakh Uranium Mines
Russia's nuclear giant Rosatom is selling stakes in its uranium mining operations in Kazakhstan to Chinese companies, the main Kazakh uranium company said Tuesday, underscoring Beijing's growing clout in central Asia. "Kazatomprom announces the exit of its Russian partner from some ...
Power Shift: China’s Role in Central Asia’s Renewable Energy Transformation
Even though the five countries in Central Asia are among the world's largest fossil fuel producers, the region faces chronic electricity shortages due to a lack of refining capacity. The energy crunch is further compounded by a reluctance to become overly ...
China Seeks to Boost Shanghai Bloc to Counter the West
By Matthew Walsh China is seeking to strengthen its leadership of an expanding bloc of nations it sees as a potential counterweight to the world order led by the United States. Leaders of the Shanghai ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: South Africa introduced a 10% tariff on all imported solar panels, cells, and modules, most of which come from China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Kazakstan and Tajikistan this week during a five-day tour that begins on Tuesday. Xi will also attend a two-day leaders summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization that begins on Wednesday in Astana. (AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE) ...
SCOring Higher? China, Russia, and the Future of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
By Giulia Sciorati The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) annual Head of State meeting was hosted in Astana on July 3rd and 4th as part of the SCO’s Kazakh presidency. Despite its over twenty years of activity, the SCO has seldom attracted ...
Putin and Xi Advance Anti-West Alliance at Central Asian Summit
The leaders of China and Russia on Thursday urged their allies and partners to resist malign external influence, advancing their shared anti-Western agenda at a regional summit in Central Asia. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping were ...
Putin, Xi Vie for Influence at Central Asian Summit
The leaders of Russia and China were in Kazakhstan on Wednesday for a regional summit, seeking to harden anti-Western alliances and press their influence in the strategic Central Asian region. Russian President Vladimir Putin touched down in the Kazakh capital of ...
China’s Xi Arrives in Kazakhstan for State Visit, Summit
By James Edgar Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Kazakhstan on Tuesday for a state visit. During his visit, he will attend a meeting of Shanghai alliance nations in the Kazakh capital, Astana. The nine-member ...
China Prepares to Lead Expanded Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Chinese President Xi Jinping is heading to Central Asia to attend the leaders’ summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, taking place on 3 and 4 July 2024, in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana. The trip will also include state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. ...
China’s Xi to Visit Kazakhstan, Tajikistan July 2-6: Foreign Ministry
The foreign ministry announced Sunday that Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend a leaders' meeting and pay state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan starting on Tuesday. Beijing has ramped up diplomatic efforts in Central Asia. Xi Jinping called for a deepening ...
Terrorism Tops the Agenda at Shanghai Cooperation Organization Meeting in Kazhakstan
National security advisors from the nine member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and several observer states gathered on Wednesday in the Kazakh capital, Astana, to discuss the growing threat posed by terrorism in Russia and Central and South Asia. ...
Pivot to Asia: Why the Near Abroad is Now China’s Top Priority
For much of the past 20 years, China sought to radically expand its presence beyond its traditional spheres of influence to new regions in Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. China lent billions to countries in these regions and devoted ...
Chart of the Day: Why Are China’s Exports to Central Asia Growing So Rapidly?
China's trade with its Central Asian neighbors is booming. While countries like Kazakhstan export a lot of oil to China, Chinese exports to the region have jumped significantly. China's exports to Central Asia stand at $16.6 billion this year, up 62% from ...
Central Asian Leaders Arrive for China Summit That Could Erode Russian Influence
The leaders of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan have arrived in the ancient Silk Road city of Xi’an for one-on-one meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the first in-person China-Central Asia summit on Friday. Xi is reportedly scheduled to deliver ...
Central Asian Leaders Arrive in Northwestern China For First-Ever Summit With Xi Jinping
Final preparations are underway in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi'an for a high-profile two-day Central Asian summit that gets underway on Thursday hosted by President Xi Jinping and his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. The gathering, known as the ...
China-Central Asia Summit Confirmed for May 18 and 19
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that President Xi Jinping will chair a summit between China and Central Asian states in the northern city of Xi’an on May 18 and 19. The so-called C+C5 summit will include leaders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, ...
Xi’s Arrival in Kazakhstan Signals New Phase of Diplomacy
Xi Jinping is back. The Chinese President emerged from nearly three years of diplomatic hibernation on Wednesday when he landed in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan for a one-day visit ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit that will take place at the end of the week ...
Confirmed: Xi Jinping Will Travel to Central Asia this Week
It’s finally been confirmed: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first foreign visit since the beginning of the pandemic will be to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this week. In addition to state visits, he’ll also attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand on 15 and ...
This Week Will Likely Mark the End of Xi Jinping’s 971 Day Absence From International Diplomacy
The last time Xi Jinping traveled abroad was a trip to Myanmar on January 17, 2020. This week, the Chinese president is widely expected to end his nearly three-year absence from international diplomacy when he heads to Central Asia for a ...
A Taliban security personnel operating an anti-aircraft gun keeps watch for Pakistani airstrikes near the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Nangarhar province on February 27, 2026 following overnight cross-border fighting between the two countries. Photo by AIMAL ZAHIR / AFP
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared "open war" against Afghanistan on Friday amid a surge of fighting between the two South Asian neighbors. Pakistan said it's retaliating against Afghanistan for a series of attacks, including a suicide bombing in early February that killed at least 36 people ...
