Economic security

In Central Asia, China Finds a Crowded Playing Field

For thousands of years, Central Asia has served as a nexus between the world's great powers. Goods and ideas have flowed across the region since ancient times, connecting China, Europe and the Middle East and giving rise to countless trade hubs, from Samarkand in modern-day Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan's Almaty. In the 19th century, the British and Russian empires vied for dominance over Central Asia in the so-called Great Game (which Moscow ultimately won), a testament to the region's enduring significance. And today, a quarter-century after its five constituent states declared their independence from the Soviet Union, the region is again the site of a global power struggle. Countries from the United States to South Korea have turned to the vast steppes of Central Asia over the past decade to try to cash in on the wealth of opportunity that awaits in the resource-rich region. The surge of interest enabled landlocked Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to forge trade and investment relationships with foreign powers beyond Russia. Most prominent among its new partners is China.