Risk Assessment and Mitigation in Central Asia

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Risk Assessment and Mitigation in Central Asia Risk assessment and mitigation in Central Asia: implications for foreign direct investment and the Belt and Road Initiative This document is an executive summary of research undertaken for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) by independent academics Alessandro Arduino and Andrew Cainey. The contents of this summary reflect the opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EBRD. Hyperlinks to non-EBRD websites do not imply any official endorsement of or responsibility for the opinions, data or products presented at these locations, or guarantee the validity of the information provided. The sole purpose of links to non-EBRD sites is to indicate further information available on related topics. Terms and names used in this paper to refer to geographical or other territories, political and economic groupings and units, do not constitute and should not be construed as constituting an express or implied position, endorsement, acceptance or expression of opinion by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development or its members concerning the status of any country, territory, grouping and unit, or delimitation of its borders, or sovereignty. Risk assessment and mitigation in Central Asia: implications for foreign direct investment and the Belt and Road Initiative 1 Contents 1. Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 3 1.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2. Central Asia in transition ................................................................................................................ 3 1.3. The Belt and Road Initiative and Chinese investment in Central Asia ........................................... 3 1.4. Financial risks ................................................................................................................................ 4 1.5. Non-financial risks.......................................................................................................................... 4 1.6. Risks with Chinese characteristics ................................................................................................. 4 1.7. Mitigating risks ............................................................................................................................... 6 2. Investment risks in Central Asia ............................................................................................................. 9 2.1. Economies and foreign direct investment in Central Asia .............................................................. 9 2.2. Framework for assessment of risks ............................................................................................... 9 2.3. Comparison of risks across countries .......................................................................................... 11 2.4. Assessment of security challenges: From terrorism to criminal violence and cybersecurity ........ 12 2.5. Cybersecurity: a crisis in the making ............................................................................................ 13 3. China’s investments and approach to risk in Central Asia ................................................................... 14 3.1. China and the Belt and Road Initiative in Central Asia ................................................................. 14 3.2. Chinese FDI in Central Asia .......................................................................................................... 15 3.3. The experience of Chinese investment in Central Asia – country by country ............................... 16 3.4. Approach to risk management for Chinese SOEs in Central Asia ................................................. 18 3.5. A case study of Chinese SOEs in Central Asia .............................................................................. 21 3.6. China’s perspective on security risk assessment and management ........................................... 22 3.7. China’s approach to Central Asia risk guarantee: the role of Sinosure ........................................ 24 3.8. The evolving role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation....................................................... 25 4. Approaches to mitigating risk ............................................................................................................... 27 4.1. Potential routes to improving risk mitigation................................................................................ 27 4.2. The role of public-private partnerships......................................................................................... 28 5. Conclusion and implications................................................................................................................. 29 Annex 1. Country profiles .............................................................................................................................. 32 Kazakhstan .............................................................................................................................................. 32 Kyrgyz Republic ........................................................................................................................................ 35 Mongolia................................................................................................................................................... 37 Tajikistan .................................................................................................................................................. 40 Turkmenistan ........................................................................................................................................... 43 Uzbekistan................................................................................................................................................ 46 Annex 2. Data ............................................................................................................................................... 48 Risk assessment and mitigation in Central Asia: implications for foreign direct investment and the Belt and Road Initiative 2 1. Executive Summary 1.1. Introduction Central Asia has many attributes as a destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), but it has long had a reputation as a difficult environment for foreign investors. Although the region’s extensive natural resources and markets do offer an attractive rationale for investment, and have led to significant capital investment, some companies have faced challenges with regard to the business environment. Gaps in infrastructure have also been problematic. Indeed, the predominant theme for many foreign investors in Central Asia has been one of risk, rather than reward. However, two factors suggest that there is potential for positive change. First, important advances in Central Asian regional cooperation and economic growth have attracted the interest of a new wave of international investors. Second, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and the associated growth of Chinese investment in Central Asia, have opened up new opportunities, as well as risks. Central Asian countries, foreign investors and international development partners share common interests in understanding and mitigating risks in order to maximise their opportunities for successful investment and economic development. 1.2. Central Asia in transition There are significant opportunities within the economies of Central Asia. The region faces changes in the international geopolitical order and its own socioeconomic transitions, as well as in energy and security relationships. Yet regional growth, at 4.6 per cent in 2018, is strong. While Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan each pursue their own individual development paths, they share similar challenges with regard to national identity, close proximity to major powers, cross-border resource management, relatively high levels of poverty, underinvestment in sustainable infrastructure, and the challenges of economic diversification, job creation and growth. Russia remained for a long time the largest trading partner for the region. Over the past decade, however, ties with China have been strengthening. 1.3. The Belt and Road Initiative and Chinese investment in Central Asia China’s Belt and Road Initiative is now in its fifth year of implementation. The land corridor of the BRI aims to link Asia and Europe through a network of railways, roads, pipelines and power grids. Central Asia is at the heart of the overland route, flowing through Xinjiang and including Mongolia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, thereby linking China with the European Union (EU) and with the Arabian Peninsula via South Asia. Central Asian rail links are positioning themselves as alternatives to sea lanes and air transport, mainly for high-value, low-volume goods. The project’s scale is poised to create commercial opportunities in the region for a wide range of companies and service providers from around the world. During the past fifteen years, the pace of economic cooperation – including trade – between China and Central Asian countries has increased exponentially in volume and scope, now involving financial, technical and cultural cooperation. At the regional
Recommended publications
  • (Prime Ministers) of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
    JOINT COMMUNIQUÉ on the results of the seventeenth meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization The seventeenth meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (hereinafter referred to as SCO or the Organization) was held in Dushanbe (Republic of Tajikistan), on 11-12 October 2018, with the participation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of India S. Swaraj, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan B. Sagintayev, Premier of the State Council of the people’s Republic of China Li Keqiang, Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic M. Abulgaziev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan S.M. Qureshi, the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation D. Medvedev, Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan K. Rasulzoda and Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan A. Aripov. The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan Kokhir Rasulzoda. SCO Secretary-General R. Alimov, Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure E. Sysoev, Chairman of the Board of SCO Business Council Chen Zhou and representative of the Chairman of the Council of the SCO Interbank Association – Vice-President of China Development Bank Liu Jin participated in the meeting. The meeting was also attended by the representatives of SCO Observer States - the Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah, Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus S. Rumas, Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia U.
    [Show full text]
  • NOVA HQ and Factory Pelitli Koyu Merkez Mah. Pelitli Yolu Cad. No
    NOVA HQ and Factory Phone : +90 262 677 70 00 Pelitli Koyu Merkez Mah. Pelitli Yolu Cad. No: 191 41400 / Gebze - Kocaeli Turkey Email: [email protected] www.nova-tr.com 02 We are a global project management company with a strong production capability We plan, engineer, manufacture and implement anything related to corporate identity of global brands, in metal, wood and acrylic, in any environment, anywhere in the world. We are a proficient and reliable one stop solution partner for an impressive portfolio of highly respected clients around the world. 03 90+ 50.000+ 500+ 50.000 m2 10.000 m2 Country Project Employee Production facility Warehouse e are commited to provide outstanding Wquality, excellence in service, right-at- first-time implementation with a unique way of creating innovative approaches since 1978. Besides our headquarters and factory located in Gebze, we established liasion offices inNurnberg, Baku and Ashgabat to service our global clients. To serve our clients’ local needs like survey, installation and after About Us sales, we established a network of 25+ local partners around the world. 04 STRONG ONE-STOP MANUFACTURING SOLUTION CAPABILITY PROVIDER We operate in a state-of-art 50.000 m2 NOVA has the ability to process main production facility, one floor dedicated raw materials such as wood, metal, to signage and one floor dedicated to acrylic as well as vinyl, lightning and corporate furniture. digital printing applications in house, under one roof. Our Differentiation Points GLOBAL 40 YEARS OF PRESENCE EXPERIENCE Today, we operate in more than 90 From a 60 m2 atelier to a 50.000 m2 countries globally, executed more than state of art manufacturing facility, from 50.000+ projects, has been a business five co-workers with a vision to 500+ partner for global brands in many team of professionals, from a start-up different sectors.
    [Show full text]
  • Emerging the Sco As an Effective Union in Asia: China’S Role and Ambitions
    P-ISSN: 2622-8831 Vol. 3 No. 2 October 2020 E-ISSN: 2622-8335 https://berumpun.ubb.ac.id/index.php/BRP EMERGING THE SCO AS AN EFFECTIVE UNION IN ASIA: CHINA’S ROLE AND AMBITIONS Enayatollah Yazdani 1, Rizwan Hossain 2 1 Associate Professor of International Relations, Center for the Middle East Studies School of International Studies Sun Yat-sen University Zhuhai Campus China 2 Scholar of International Relations Canberra, Australia Corresponding Author: Enayatollah Yazdani Email:[email protected] ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an Eurasian Received: 2020-08-11 political, economic and security alliance.The SCO which its Accepted: 2020-09-29 original focus was on border disputes, has begun an Published: 2020-10- evolution, changing its focus to to economic cooperation and Volume: 3 issues of counter terrorism and regional security. China as a Issue: 2 founder member of the SCO has an evolving role in the DOI: organization. This paper aims to address this main question: https://doi.org/10.33019/berump what is the position and role of China in the SCO? The paper un.v3i1.38 discusses that China as a major power with a growing KEYWORDS economy is playing an effective role in the organization. And the goals which China pursues in this organization are in line Shanghai Cooperation Organization with the larger goals of the country in the international (SCO), China, Central Asia, Russia, arena. Eurasia and the Soviet Union. 1.INTRODUCTION The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, originally known as the Shanghai Five, was initially intended to resolve border issues between China, Russia and the Central Asian states following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
    [Show full text]
  • Russia: Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security
    PRIMAKOV NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF WORLD ECONOMY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (IMEMO) RUSSIA: ARMS CONTROL, DISARMAMENT AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY IMEMO SUPPLEMENT TO THE RUSSIAN EDITION OF THE SIPRI YEARBOOK 2017 Preface by Alexander Dynkin Editors Alexey Arbatov and Sergey Oznobishchev Assistant Editor Tatiana Anichkina Moscow IMEMO 2018 УДК 327 ББК 64.4(0) Rus95 Rus95 Russia: arms control, disarmament and international security. IMEMO supplement to the Russian edition of the SIPRI Yearbook 2017 / Ed. by Alexey Arbatov and Sergey Oznobishchev. – Moscow, IMEMO, 2018. – 201 p. ISBN 978-5-9535-0535-2 DOI: 10.20542/978-5-9535-0535-2 The volume provides IMEMO contributions to the Russian edition of the 2017 SIPRI Yearbook: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security. The contributors address the erosion of strategic stability regime, issues of multilateral nuclear deterrence, 2018 US Nuclear Posture Review, DPRK’s nuclear and missile potential, problems with verification of the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. This year’s edition also covers crisis of European security, evolution of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, strategic relations between China, India, and Pakistan, Middle East conflicts and prospects of a Syrian settlement, and adjustment of the Russian State Armament programme. To view IMEMO publications, please visit our website at https://www.imemo.ru ISBN 978-5-9535-0535-2 ИМЭМО РАН, 2018 CONTENTS PREFACE..............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Comparative Connections a Triannual E-Journal on East Asian Bilateral Relations
    Comparative Connections A Triannual E-Journal on East Asian Bilateral Relations China-Russia Relations: Between Geo-Economics and Geo-Politics Yu Bin Wittenberg University The last four months of 2011 were both ordinary and extraordinary for Beijing and Moscow. There was certainly business as usual as top leaders and bureaucrats frequented each other’s countries for scheduled meetings. The world around them, however, was riddled with crises and conflicts. Some (Libya and Syria) had seriously undermined their respective interests; others (Iran and North Korea) were potentially more volatile, and even dangerous, for the region and the world. Regardless, 2011 was a year full of anniversaries with symbolic and substantive implications for not only China and Russia, but also much of the rest of the world. Prime Minister – future/past President – Putin in Beijing Russian Prime Minister Putin traveled to China on Oct. 11-12 to attend the 16th Regular Meeting of the Prime Ministers of Russia and China. Economic issues were the focus for this scheduled meeting between Putin and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Of the Russian delegation, 160 of the 250 members were top business leaders. A total of 16 economic and trade agreements worth more than $7 billion were signed a day before Putin’s visit in the areas of finance (one project worth $4 billion, including $1.0 billion into the Russian Direct Investment Fund, founded in June with backing from Putin and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev), investment (four projects worth $90 million), trade (five projects worth $2.55 billion), and 10 other projects ($380 million) including aerospace, biochemistry, IT, renewable energy, etc.
    [Show full text]
  • Kuwait Factory
    TEMSAN CONSTRUCTION AND MACHINERY INC. TEMSAN IN BRIEF Current Fields of Activity : • Industrial facilities, factory buildings, car parks, aircraft shelters, multi-purpose warehouses and hangars, • Multi-storey steel buildings, • Architectural steel structure applications, • Fuel storage tanks with fixed or floating ceilings of various capacities (1 m3 to 100,000 m3) conforming API 650 and BS 2654 standards, • Chemical treatment and process tanks, • Over-head cranes, harbor cranes, portal cranes and conveyor systems, • Steel bridges, • Large size sliding and hinged door systems, blast doors (factories, military aircraft shelters, etc.) • Stadium roofs, theme-park roofs, sports arenas and similar structures. CERTIFICATES • ISO 9001 • ISO 14001 • OHSAS 18001 CERTIFICATES •EN 1090-2 EXC4 • DIN EN ISO 3834-2 ORGANIZATION CHART NUMBER OF PRESENT STAFF JANUARY 2019 TEMSAN SITE TOTAL FACTORY # OF ENGINEERS 18 16 34 # OF TECHNICIANS 16 14 30 # OF ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF 23 6 29 # OF WORKERS 83 238 321 # OF Subcontractors’ WORKERS 154 56 210 TOTAL 294 330 624 WORKING YEARS OF STAFF IN TEMSAN Over Between Between Below Total 25 years 25-15 years 15-5 years 5 years ENGINEERS 34 33 11 17 TECHNICIANS 30 13 8 18 ADMINISTRATIVE 29 54 9 11 STAFF WORKERS 321 4 18 37 262 SUBCONTRACTORS 210 0 22 14 174 TOTAL 624 13 50 79 482 NUMBER OF PRESENT STAFF JANUARY 2019 KUWAIT FACTORY KUWAIT KUWAIT FACTORY FACTORY TOTAL TURKISH INDIAN/OTHERS # OF ENGINEERS 4 7 11 # OF TECHNICIANS 5 5 10 # OF ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF 2 1 3 # OF WORKERS 51 77 128 TOTAL 62 90 152 KUWAIT FACTORY
    [Show full text]
  • Deepening Economic Cooperation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Opportunities, Barriers and Approaches
    Deepening Economic Cooperation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Opportunities, Barriers and Approaches Han Lu conomic cooperation is an important foundation and development area for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Over the past 17 years, the SCO has made significant progress in regionalE economic cooperation, but it has also encountered many specific difficulties. The expansion of the SCO membership in 2017 brought opportunities to regional economic cooperation. Standing at this new historic starting point, the SCO should make full use of various favorable conditions, work hard to overcome the negative influence of internal and external unfavorable factors, strengthen solidarity and cooperation, solve problems that hinder development, and promote a new level of economic cooperation. Major Achievements of SCO Economic Cooperation Guided by the Program of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation, signed by SCO heads of state in 2003, the SCO member states have worked together and made remarkable achievements in regional economic cooperation. Codification and institutionalization of cooperation A legal basis for regional economic cooperation has been established. Since its establishment, the SCO has witnessed the signing of a series of Han Lu is Associate Research Fellow at the Department for European-Central Asian Studies, China Institute of International Studies (CIIS). Deepening Economic Cooperation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Opportunities, Barriers and Approaches July/August 2018 39 legal documents
    [Show full text]
  • Investment Opportunities in Turkmenistan
    Investment Opportunities in Turkmenistan Political Risks Analysis Investment Opportunities in Turkmenistan: Political Risks Analysis Investment Opportunities in Turkmenistan Political Risks Analysis Moscow IIPE 2011 The International Institute for Political Expertise in March-April 2011 organized the research of the investment opportunities in Turkmenistan. This study is the first among the research series by the IIPE on investment climate in the post soviet countries. The research objectives were to identify successful ways of behavior in Turkmenistan as well as analyze the current and potential political risks, and suggest measures to minimize these risks. An additional stimulus to conduct this research in autoritarian Turkmenistan, an abundant with resources country, was the wave of revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa. Consequently, the question has arised regarding the stability of the existing political regime in Turkmenistan. The research involved an analysis of public sources (research and reports of international institutions and media publications) and a major survey among international experts. The survey included sixty participants. Among them, 18 experts participated in a comprehensive ‘deep’ interview and 43 filled in a questionnaire. The experts were comprised of analysts and business representatives from 19 countries (Azerbaijan, Great Britain, Germany, Israel, Iran, Kazakhstan, Republic of South Korea, Norway, United Arab Emirates, Poland, Russia, the United States, Singapore, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, France,
    [Show full text]
  • The Geopolitics of Natural Gas Turkmenistan: Real Energy Giant Or Eternal Potential?
    The Geopolitics of Natural Gas Turkmenistan: Real Energy Giant or Eternal Potential? Harvard University’s Belfer Center and Rice University’s Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies December 2013 JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RICE UNIVERSITY TURKMENISTAN: REAL ENERGY GIANT OR ETERNAL POTENTIAL? BY MARTHA BRILL OLCOTT, PH.D. SENIOR ASSOCIATE RUSSIA AND EURASIA PROGRAM CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE DECEMBER 10, 2013 Turkmenistan: Real Energy Giant or Eternal Potential? THESE PAPERS WERE WRITTEN BY A RESEARCHER (OR RESEARCHERS) WHO PARTICIPATED IN A BAKER INSTITUTE RESEARCH PROJECT. WHEREVER FEASIBLE, THESE PAPERS ARE REVIEWED BY OUTSIDE EXPERTS BEFORE THEY ARE RELEASED. HOWEVER, THE RESEARCH AND VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THESE PAPERS ARE THOSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL RESEARCHER(S), AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY. © 2013 BY THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY OF RICE UNIVERSITY THIS MATERIAL MAY BE QUOTED OR REPRODUCED WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION, PROVIDED APPROPRIATE CREDIT IS GIVEN TO THE AUTHOR AND THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY. 2 Turkmenistan: Real Energy Giant or Eternal Potential? Acknowledgments The Center for Energy Studies of Rice University’s Baker Institute would like to thank ConocoPhillips and the sponsors of the Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies for their generous support of this program. The Center for Energy Studies further acknowledges the contributions by study researchers and writers. Energy Forum Members Advisory Board Associate Members Accenture Direct Energy The Honorable & Mrs. Hushang Ansary Hess Corporation Baker Botts L.L.P. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.
    [Show full text]
  • THE SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION and OSCE: ORGANIZATIONAL EFFORTS VS COVID-19 in CENTRAL ASIA by Matthew Neapole
    C A P P A P E R N O . 2 4 3 THE SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION AND OSCE: ORGANIZATIONAL EFFORTS VS COVID-19 IN CENTRAL ASIA By Matthew Neapole Photo by Yohann Libot November 4, 2020 MATTHEW COVID-19 has proven to be a cunning foe. Its effects have been felt NEAPOLE at different times and, depending on measures taken and the situation on the ground, it has produced different outcomes. Months after the first outbreak came to light, we are still taking stock of the initial impact of COVID-19—and this is ignoring the fact that the shockwaves it has caused are yet to be fully felt. The unfortunate Matthew was most recently a Junior Researcher truth is that it may be some years yet before everything has settled. at the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS), in Brussels, where his work focused What is clear now at least is, while lockdowns and the closure of largely on Central Asia and Japan. He holds a national borders may solve the issue on a local level, to clamp down Master’s in International Relations (International Security track) from the University of Groningen, on COVID-19 more fully, unified, and perhaps even regional in the Netherlands. Matthew's master’s thesis responses are necessary. The EU, the poster boy for regional focused on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and its important role in Chinese integration, is often used as an example, but there are certainly multipolar ambitions. other actors worthy of consideration. Central Asia (CA) is one of these regions, despite being not as central in the mind’s eye of many analysts.
    [Show full text]
  • Turkmenistan Under Berdimuhamedow
    Dismantling Totalitarianism? Tu r k m e n i s t a n u n d e r Berdimuhamedow Slavomír Horák Jan Šír SILK ROAD PAPER March 2009 Dismantling Totalitarianism? Turkmenistan under Berdimuhamedow Slavomír Horák Jan Šír © Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program – A Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center Johns Hopkins University-SAIS, 1619 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 Institute for Security and Development Policy, V. Finnbodav. 2, Stockholm-Nacka 13130, Sweden www.silkroadstudies.org “Dismantling Totalitarianism? Turkmenistan under Berdimuhamedow” is a Silk Road Paper published by the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and the Silk Road Studies Program. The Silk Road Papers Series is the Occasional Paper series of the Joint Center, and addresses topical and timely subjects. The Joint Center is a transatlantic independent and non-profit research and policy center. It has offices in Washington and Stockholm and is affiliated with the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University and the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy. It is the first institution of its kind in Europe and North America, and is firmly established as a leading research and policy center, serving a large and diverse community of analysts, scholars, policy-watchers, business leaders, and journalists. The Joint Center is at the forefront of research on issues of conflict, security, and development in the region. Through its applied research, publications, research cooperation, public lectures, and seminars, it functions as a focal point for academic, policy, and public discussion regarding the region. The opinions and conclusions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program.
    [Show full text]
  • Rising Anti-Chinese Sentiment in Central Asia: a Harbinger of Regional Unrest?
    DISCUSSION PAPER Rising Anti-Chinese Sentiment in Central Asia: A Harbinger of Regional Unrest? Aruuke Uran Kyzy DISCUSSION PAPER Rising Anti-Chinese Sentiment in Central Asia: A Harbinger of Regional Unrest? Aruuke Uran Kyzy Rise of Anti-Chinese Sentiment in Central Asia: Evolving Regional Unrest? © TRT WORLD RESEARCH CENTRE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WRITTEN BY Aruuke Uran Kyzy PUBLISHER TRT WORLD RESEARCH CENTRE June 2020 TRT WORLD İSTANBUL AHMET ADNAN SAYGUN STREET NO:83 34347 ULUS, BEŞİKTAŞ İSTANBUL / TURKEY TRT WORLD LONDON PORTLAND HOUSE 4 GREAT PORTLAND STREET NO:4 LONDON / UNITED KINGDOM TRT WORLD WASHINGTON D.C. 1819 L STREET NW SUITE 700 20036 WASHINGTON DC www.trtworld.com researchcentre.trtworld.com The opinions expressed in this discussion paper represent the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the TRT World Research Centre. 4 Rise of Anti-Chinese Sentiment in Central Asia: Evolving Regional Unrest? Abstract he novel coronavirus pan- Sinophobia, and Beijing’s capabilities, are of demic has affected the world critical importance for projecting the geopolit- in an unprecedented way, ical future of the region. This discussion paper affecting production, sup- is divided into three parts. The first section de- ply chains and the mobility tails China’s strategic logic behind its interests in of people and goods. This Central Asia by providing historical context, and Tincludes China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). its stated geopolitical and economic objectives. While Beijing’s soft power is expanding in Cen- The second section evaluates the characteristic tral Asia, economic and diplomatic depend- of China’s Central Asian Projects.
    [Show full text]