BEIJING: China is renewing its push for massive infrastructure projects in Central Asia as Beijing aims to fill the vacuum left in former Soviet states by Russia, which is ensnared in a widening net of Western sanctions over the
Central Asia has become key to China's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative , a defining geopolitical project for President Xi Jinping.
Analysts say that Russia's war in Ukraine has further shifted the dynamic in Beijing's favour - leading many in the region to question their long-standing ties with Moscow and seek economic, diplomatic and strategic assurances elsewhere. The summit is likely to see efforts to push ahead with vast transport links and pipelines, including a long-stalled US$6 billion China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and an expansion of the Central Asia-to-China gas pipeline.
Beijing says that the initiative aims to deepen friendly trade relations, particularly with the developing world. Beijing's big spending - and fears that it could use its clout to influence domestic politics - have"fed growing phobias", Sebastien Peyrouse, a research professor at George Washington University's Central Asia Program, told AFP.
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