Chinese President Xi Jinping invited the leaders of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia to visit his country in May, in order to attend the “China and Central Asia” summit, at a time when China is strengthening its presence in this region while Russia, which has great influence in it, is preoccupied with the war in Ukraine.
In congratulatory telegrams sent separately on Monday and Tuesday for the celebration of Nowruz – the traditional holiday marking the arrival of spring – Xi Jinping invited the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to attend the “first-ever China-Central Asia Summit” in May.
These four countries published the cables. Turkmenistan, a reclusive country and a major gas supplier to Beijing, has yet to release the cable.
These authoritarian states are part of the “New Silk Road,” a massive road, rail and port infrastructure project initiated by China.
Meanwhile, Russia, which has viewed Central Asia as its backyard since the mid-nineteenth century, fears for its influence at a time when its traditional regional allies are becoming the focus of attention from China, Turkey, and Western countries.
This trend has accelerated since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, although Moscow maintains strong influence in the region.
In recent months, in addition to Xi Jinping, Russian and Turkish presidents, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, European Council President Charles Michel and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken have visited Central Asia.
An online summit was also held, according to the “5 + 1” model, organized by Xi in January 2022 to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Central Asia after the fall of the Soviet Union.
The four cables look alike, with Xi Jinping stressing the deepening of relations between China and Central Asia.
According to the cable released by Tajikistan’s state news agency KHOVAR, Xi Jinping said he was “looking forward to discussing a grand plan for the development of China-Central Asia relations.”
However, the growing Chinese influence will not pass without arousing some fear and opposition among the population, especially in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
The land issue, the growing debt to Beijing, and the latter’s repression in Xinjiang against the Uighurs – a Muslim ethnic group that also lives in Central Asia – are major obstacles to the growth of this influence.
Source: France24