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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 ...

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 ...

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).

The New Great Game: China and the West Vie for Influence in Central Asia

Central Asia is one of those regions that isn't getting a lot of attention these days, as it's not a major player in the escalating U.S.-China trade war. But that may soon change as both major powers look to the region ...

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 ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Plugging into African Agency

After several years of declining funding, the African end of the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be roaring back. The newest Griffith University/Green Development Finance Center data on the Belt and Road Initiative shows that engagement with Africa jumped by 395%, while a few big projects boosted engagement in Nigeria alone more than twelvefold.
These shifts indicate a window of opportunity for African electrification. 60% of Africans still ...

AIIB to Finance Construction of Longest Bridge in Central Asia

A Chinese company will help construct a road bridge in Tajikistan set to become Central Asia's longest, an official said Wednesday, as Beijing expands its influence in the ex-Soviet region. The bridge across the Surkhob river in central Tajikistan will be ...

China’s Xi Pledges Support for Tajikistan ‘Territorial Integrity’

Chinese President Xi Jinping promised on Friday to defend the "territorial integrity" of Tajikistan as he announced a boost to diplomatic relations with the neighboring country on a rare visit. Xi arrived in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe Thursday night from ...

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’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 ...

How China Can Make a Significant Difference in Mobilizing Capital for Climate and Conservation

By Rebecca Ray On February 7, major global creditors will meet at the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) to address the continuing debt crisis among emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), which have faced a confluence of crisis factors – ...

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 ...

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 ...
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