China-Central Asia Relations and Role of the Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract

China is moving to greater economic and political influence in the global scale. One of the Chinese strategy for “go global” is Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which was announced by President Xi Jinping in 2013. The BRI includes a significant number of countries from Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. In this framework, China relations with Central Asia are an important part of the BRI project. The BRI is not merely an economic project as framed by Beijing, but that it represents a new stage in China’s engagement with the Central Asian republics. The Belt and Road Initiative is highly likely to become China’s most significant contribution to Central Asia economic development. This would affect the China-Central Asia relations economically and politically.