Chinas Xi announces a grand Central Asian development plan

Xi Jinping, President of China, announced a plan for Central Asia’s development, looking to assume leadership in the region.

The grand plan, which includes everything from boosting trade to the construction of infrastructure, shows that China is ready to coordinate development ventures with Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. Addressing a China-Central Asia Summit in northwest China, President Xi said that China seeks to promote modernization in all the Central Asian countries, a region that’s traditionally located within the Russian sphere of influence.

Later, at a press conference with his Central Asian counterparts, Xi added that they would jointly foster a new paradigm of deep mutually beneficial and high level win-win cooperation with each other.

With Russia focusing on its war in Ukraine and the diminishing US presence in the region due to the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, this engagement puts China at the forefront of the race for energy assets and political influence in the resource-laden region.

The five former Soviet republics, collectively called the “Stans”, due to their network of trade corridors, offer China alternative routes to transport food, fuel, and other commodities in the event of supply chain blockages elsewhere.

President XI announced that China would provide the Central Asian countries with a total of 26 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) of grants and financing support to bolster cooperation and Central Asian development.

Xi concluded that China and the other Central Asian countries should deepen their mutual trust and offer clear and strong support for core interests such as independence, national dignity, sovereignty, and long term development.