2022 Year in Review

Xi Jinping’s decision to visit Central Asia as his first destination since the
pandemic indicates Beijing’s intention to strengthen ties with its neighbouring
region. The Central Asian states have grown in strategic significance in terms of
trade and location, particularly considering their crucial geographic location visà-vis
China’s BRI.
As a region of historical Russian influence, forming parts of the Russian Empire
and later the Soviet Union, the international position of the Central Asian “stans”
have been inseparably tied to Moscow for centuries. However, with Russia seen
to be on a downward decline, the region has sought greater independence in
foreign policy decision-making and moved to diversify economic partners.
Faltering Russian influence in the region now provides Zhongnanhai the
opportunity to deepen its own influence. In this regard, Beijing acknowledges
that the CKU will not only carry cargo and economic benefits to the region, but
also carry the geostrategically important cargo of China’s railpolitik.
Prior to Xi’s visit, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi visited Tashkent, meeting with
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov pledging to deepen China’s cooperation with not
only Kyrgyzstan but all the former Soviet “stans” in infrastructure, transport,
energy, agriculture, finance, and regional security, among others. The meeting
also affirmed the commencement of the CKU’s construction in 2023 via a
memorandum signed in September 2022.
In response to the CKU agreement, Japarov commented, “there will be jobs. Our
economy will boom.” This mood is widely reflected across Kyrgyzstan and
Uzbekistan, where many, including Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, view the
CKU as their ticket to economic advancement and a crucial connection to the
global market. There is also a possibility for the host nations to generate transit
fee revenue for the anticipated freight traffic, forming a new source of muchneeded
income.
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