China's Interests in Central Asia

A.A. Sharapov

Frontline Social Sciences and History Journal

FRONTLINE JOURNALS

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China's Interests in Central Asia

A.A. Sharapov

Candidate of Political Sciences, Associate Professor, University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Uzbekistan

A R T I C L E I N f

О

Article history:

Submission Date: 11 April 2025

Accepted Date: 07 May 2025

Published Date: 09 June 2025

VOLUME:

Vol.05 Issue06

Page No. 14-20

DOI: -

https://doi.org/10.37547/social-

fsshj-05-06-03

A B S T R A C T

The study of the relationship between China and the peoples of Central
Asia, which have a deep history, shows its relevance in the modern
conditions of world development. Despite this, the study of Chinese
civilization, politics, economy and culture of China is one of the priority
topics in academic and analytical circles in the Central Asian countries. In
the modern conditions of globalization, economic cooperation between the
two sides is increasing. China is increasingly present in the socio-economic
space of Central Asia. Analytical centers of China play an important role in
this process.

Keywords:

China, Central Asia, SCO, migration, soft power.

INTRODUCTION

Relations between China and the peoples of
Central

Asia

have

quite

ancient

roots.

Nevertheless, Central Asia faces an urgent question
of historical, civilizational and geopolitical nature -
do we know China?
Leading scientist-sinologist, Doctor of Historical
Sciences A.Khodjaev notes that China has
maintained close ties with Central Asia since
ancient times. Through it, the achievements of
science and art of other peoples, Buddhism and
Islam penetrated into this country, having a great
influence on Chinese culture. Moreover, the spread
of Islam led to the emergence of a new ethnic group
in China, called "Dungan" ("Huizu"), the formation
of which was influenced by people from modern
Uzbekistan and neighboring republics. Chinese
goods went to Central Asia and further to South
Asia, the Middle East and Europe. At the same time,
Chinese culture spread.
Professor N.E.Karimova notes the importance of
Kumul in the trade and embassy relations of China

and Central Asia during the period of Amir Temur
and the Temurids, which in the Ming era was an
important point on the Great Silk Road.
Subsequently, several reasons influenced the
development of relations.
The first is the issue related to the borders
between the two empires. There are enough
agreements on this issue in bilateral relations.
The second is the influence of internal political
processes in Russia and China on the resolution of
issues regarding borders.
During the Soviet period, the border issue still
remained an important component in bilateral
relations and had a conflict-generating nature.
Thus, the border settlement issues that arose in the
19th century became a kind of legacy of the past for
the newly independent countries of Central Asia.
This issue is relevant from the point of view of
studying Chinese political and strategic culture, as
it allows for a more in-depth study of the behavior
of the Chinese as neighbors of Central Asia.
When it comes to modern relations between the

Frontline Social Sciences and History Journal

ISSN: 2752-7018

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Central Asian states and China, it is necessary to
take into account the geopolitical situation in the
region after the collapse of the USSR, thanks to
which China began to border with new sovereign
states - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. At
the end of the 20th century, the nature of bilateral
relations began to transform. This was primarily
due to several circumstances:
1.

The

Central

Asian

countries

became

independent subjects of international relations,
which allowed Beijing to begin resolving the most
important issue - border regulation with the
Central Asian countries.
2. The PRC economy needed markets and natural
resources and transport and communication
capabilities of Central Asia.
3. The need to ensure the security of the XUAR
borders with Central Asia.
As a result, on September 8, 1992, an agreement
was reached in Minsk on the formation of a
commission consisting of representatives of
Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to
conduct border negotiations with China. A
principled approach to them was also developed
based on the recognition of the results of the
negotiations conducted by the former USSR,
including an agreement on the numerical
reduction of border troops. According to
R.M.Alimov, Central Asia, which is of strategic
importance to China as a supplier of energy
resources, various raw materials and a large
market for Chinese goods, will continue to retain
its significance in the process of socio-economic
transformations in the XUAR.
Moreover, the issue of ensuring stability in the
XUAR is more than relevant for Beijing.
It is also necessary to take into account the
bilateral relations between Moscow and Beijing in
the Eurasian space. Since they, having geographical
advantages, are able to influence Central Asia.
It can be noted that control over space, being a
sphere of geopolitics, has always been relevant in
the relations between China and Central Asia.
Later, border issues were touched upon during
meetings of delegations of China and the three
Central Asian states at the highest level.
On April 26, 1996, in Shanghai, the Chairman of the
PRC and the presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed the "Agreement
on Strengthening Confidence in the Military Sphere
in the Border Area".
In accordance with it, the parties committed to:
- refrain from military maneuvers that threaten the
other side;

- limit the scale, zones and number of military
exercises;
- notify each other of important military actions in
the 100-kilometer border strip;
- strengthen friendly ties between military units in
the border area and border troops;
- notify each other in advance of the movements,
exercises and other actions of their troops;
- strive to transform areas near the border into a
zone of trust and stability.
As A.Khodjaev notes, the emergence of the SCO was
due to the new geopolitical situation in the world,
Central Asia and the surrounding regions after the
collapse of the USSR. The past years have shown
that the SCO has become a key mechanism for
cooperation

between

members

of

this

organization.
The SCO summit, which took place in September
2022 in Samarkand, on the one hand, showed that
the organization's activities have already reached
a qualitatively high level.
In the relations between the Central Asian states
and China, in addition to border territory issues,
there are equally important components - this is
the issue of Chinese emigration to Central Asia and
the energy factor.
Professor Zhuang Guotu notes that, according to
the International Organization for Migration
(IOM), more than 10 million Chinese currently live
outside their country. If their descendants are
included in this figure, the total number of Chinese
emigrants will be about 60 million people. This is
one of the highest rates in the world. However, this
is not surprising, because the history of Chinese
emigration, which began with the creation of the
Maritime Silk Road, has been going on for about
two thousand years. At first, the main destination
for Chinese migrants was Southeast Asia. At the
beginning of the 15th century, Chinese quarters -
each of which housed several thousand people -
began to appear in Sumatra and Java, now part of
Indonesia. However, mass emigration began only
in the 16th century.
It is noted that today China has become one of the
largest financial donors and investors in the
development of transport, communications,
energy (oil and gas, uranium, coal, rare earth)
infrastructure in the countries of Central Asia.
China is an important trade and economic partner
and supplier of almost the entire range of everyday
goods. For 25 years, trade has been a source of
bilateral small and individual trade business and
migration in countries bordering China. China has
also become a source of skilled labor, which is

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lacking in the region. By now, this migration has
become a fairly stable trend, which is constantly
strengthening in the context of actively developing
trade and economic cooperation between the two
countries.
Chinese labor migration in Uzbekistan includes
trade

migration,

business

migration

and

employment. Today, there is a stable presence of
Chinese labor and business. Chinese managers,
engineering and technical personnel, other
professionals and workers are employed in
priority sectors of China's cooperation in
Uzbekistan. They work mainly in large Chinese and
joint ventures, companies, contractors in the
energy, construction, and service sectors.
The main reasons that force the Chinese to leave
the country are as follows:
1. Overpopulation of the country;
2. Lack of land;
3. The problem of employment;
4. Social problems;
5. The influence of traditions.
This process manifests itself differently depending
on the legal, cultural, and specific features of the
countries in the region.
The key issue for China is how to provide its
rapidly developing economy with natural
resources. As noted by the scientist and sinologist
A.Khodjaev, its own production cannot meet
China's needs. In 2019, the volume of gas extracted
in China amounted to 173.3 billion cubic meters.
According to the plan, by the end of 2020 it should
reach 360 billion cubic meters. According to 2019
data, gas reserves in China amount to 1.4 trillion
cubic meters.
The fuel and energy complex of the PRC performs
a serious task in developing the country's economy
and ensuring China's energy security. However,
China's own resources are limited.
China currently relies on foreign exports for almost
60% of its oil, with Saudi Arabia, Angola and Russia
being the largest oil suppliers. China also obtains
more than 30% of its natural gas from foreign
sources.
According to Chinese researchers, the following
three areas are currently the priority in China's
energy security strategy:
1) Diversification cooperation;
2) Economy (energy efficiency);
3) Technological innovation.
China has achieved great results in searching for
and finding new energy sources, but on the other
hand, the issue of transport communications

remains relevant, since ensuring transit security is
complicated by the dominant position of the
United States and its allies in the Indian Ocean and
South China Sea, through which about 80% of
crude oil supplies to China pass. In this sense, the
situation around the Strait of Malacca is extremely
important for China.
Over the past few years, due to the diversification
of energy, the structure of energy consumption in
the country has begun to change in favor of cleaner
energy sources - hydropower (8%), natural gas
(8%), nuclear energy (2%) and other renewable
energy sources (RES) (almost 4%).
In terms of energy security, China is developing
nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is a dynamically
developing sector of the economy
PRC. As of 2019, China had 48 operating nuclear
power units located at 17 stations, 11 power units
were under construction.
Cooperation in the field of nuclear energy is
currently one of the most promising for China, but
the development of the country's nuclear industry
seems difficult without the proper amount of
nuclear raw materials, which China does not have.
In this regard, cooperation with Central Asia is of
paramount importance for China. According to
researcher K.Khakberdiev, cooperation between
Uzbekistan and China in the field of mineral
resource extraction is one of the significant and
successful areas of bilateral relations. The most
significant areas of joint cooperation in this area
should be noted as the extraction and
transportation of hydrocarbon raw materials, as
well as the development and operation of deposits.
In 2004, China National Nuclear Corporation
(CNNC) signed a contract with NC Kazatomprom
for uranium mining until 2020, which was
accompanied by an agreement on strategic
cooperation between China and Kazakhstan in the
field of nuclear energy.
Taking into account the current state of the energy
sector, Beijing's plans include the following tasks.
The PRC energy development strategy states:
- promote energy conservation in key areas and
key links, reasonably control overall energy
consumption while consuming less energy and
quickly

supporting

economic

and

social

development.
- accelerate the development of pure electric
vehicles, hybrid vehicles and vessels, natural gas
vehicles and vessels, and expand the use of
alternative fuels for transportation.
- high-energy-intensive industries and industries

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with excess capacity should implement overall
energy consumption control and strict restrictions,
other

industries

should

implement

strict

restrictions in accordance with advanced energy
efficiency standards, the energy efficiency of
existing capacity should have a deadline for
compliance, and should meet the advanced energy
efficiency standards of domestic production
capacity.
In relations between China and the Central Asian
countries, where the interests of the world's
leading actors are present, the investment sphere
is a clearly expressed component. In this regard,
the leadership of the PRC was in no hurry and
waited, closely monitoring the complex and
changeable situation in the Eurasian region.
The PRC acted in a targeted manner, carefully
studying the situation in each of the countries. The
priorities were built on the principle of
maintaining strong relations with large CIS
countries and moving "from near to far", first
establishing friendly relations with neighboring
CIS member countries, and then with others of
strategic importance for China. As a result, in the
security sphere, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan have become the most important
partners for China in the post-Soviet space, along
with Russia. In the economic sphere - Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus
and Ukraine - countries that either have rich
energy resources or are capable of playing an
important role in the economic development and
modernization of China's national defense.
Today, the process of expanding China's presence
in the five countries is proceeding at different
rates. However, somewhere sooner, somewhere
later, but all the countries of the region are
gradually focusing on China as a key partner in the
economic sphere.
The China-Central Asia Summit, which was held on
May 18-19, 2023, opened a new stage in Chinese
policy in the region. Chinese President Xi Jinping
delivered a keynote speech in which he outlined
the role of Central Asia in China's long-term plans.
China expects to increase the supply of transit
cargo in the China-Europe direction. This should
contribute to the development of China's trade and
economic relations with Central Asia, which is
assigned the role of a bridge in the supply of transit
cargo to Europe. China is interested in building the
Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China railway.
The implementation of the projects discussed at
the summit could create conditions for increasing
China's trade turnover with Central Asian

countries. In 2022, the volume of trade between
China and Central Asian countries reached a record
high and amounted to more than 70 billion US
dollars.
On January 24, 2024, in Beijing, negotiations were
held between the President of the Republic of
Uzbekistan Sh.Mirziyoyev and the Chairman of the
People's Republic of China Xi Jinping, following
which the leaders adopted a Joint Statement and
signed a solid package of bilateral documents.
Today, the total volume of Chinese investments
amounted to over 14 billion dollars. The number of
enterprises with Chinese capital has tripled. As
noted by researcher from Kazakhstan R. Izimov,
judging by the plans of the Chinese leadership
regarding Central Asia, Beijing's participation and
presence in regional affairs will only increase in
the future. Beijing sets ambitious goals, the
implementation of which will further increase the
dependence of the countries of the region on China,
and the Chinese authorities will receive even more
levers of political influence.
In this case, the role of Chinese think tanks should
be noted. In this regard, the following approach is
of research interest. Sinologist, Professor A. Maslov

offers his typology of Chinese think tanks. “We will
use the term “think tanks” as a synonym for think

-

tank or, as it is often translated into Russian, “think
tanks”. It should be noted that in Chi

nese there is a

similar term “zhiku”

智

库

—

literally “storage of

wisdom”, which is to some extent an analogue of

the term think-tank.
According to the Global Go To Think Tank index

2020 report, Chinese “think tanks” are in second

place (1413) after the United States (2203), and
these two countries are significantly ahead of India
(612) and Great Britain (515), which is in third

place.” It should also be noted that China's think

tanks are seen as part of the country's soft power.
In Chinese historiography, there are a number of

different designations for “soft power,” including

ruan shi li, ruan li liang, and ruan quan li. All of
these terms, despite reflecting the same concept,
carry slightly different semantic loads. The first,
most frequently used, is literally interpreted as

“soft real/actual power,” which somewhat
contradicts the assertions that “soft power” is
immaterial. The second term means “soft power,”

as a rule, the term li liang (Yash) is more often used
to denote the physical power of the subject, which
again emphasizes the very pragmatic and quite
material approach to the term. And, finally, the
third concept ruan quan li reflects more of the legal

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nature of “soft power,” and can literally be
interpreted in several ways at once, namely: “soft

pow

er,” “soft authority/right,” etc.

In official statements by the Chinese leadership,
the term ruan shili is predominantly used, usually
in conjunction with the adjective wenhua - culture
or cultural, which in fact dictates the direction of
the state's "soft power". The concept introduced by
J.Nai was by no means new to China; the practice of
peacefully achieving political goals has always
been used in this country. Many Chinese
researchers believe that the concept of "soft
power" is consistent with Sun Tzu's statements
about defeating the enemy without a fight, as well
as with the category of the ancient Chinese
philosopher Mencius "the way of the sovereign",
which implied humane rule and which was
contrasted with the category "the way of the
hegemon", which is actually based on "hard
power".
The year 2002, when Hu Jintao came to power in
the PRC, heading the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the country, and a year later
became the Chairman of the PRC, can be
considered the start of the implementation of
Chinese "soft power". It was with the arrival of Hu
Jintao that accents related to the use of "soft"
power instruments began to appear in China's
foreign policy. The starting point for launching
projects in the sphere of "soft power" can be
considered the 17th Congress of the Communist
Party of China, when the policy of cultural and
humanitarian interaction was proclaimed as an
independent direction of the country's foreign
policy. One of the main instruments of cultural
influence of the PRC is named after Confucius. The
activities of Confucius Institutes around the world
are aimed at spreading the Chinese language and
culture.
The main functions of Confucius Institutes include:
developing Chinese culture and art; meeting the
needs of people from various countries studying
Chinese; and humanitarian cooperation between

China and other countries; building a “harmonious
world”. Confucius Institutes have become a world

-

famous brand in the field of language and cultural
communication, which, based on quality and
intensive

development,

has

created

an

authoritative

and

influential

international

educational community.
Currently, there are 548 Confucius Institutes and
1,193 Confucius Classrooms in 154 countries and
regions around the world. The number of students

who have participated in various programs of
Confucius Institutes exceeds 12,720,000 people.
This indicator for Central Asia looks like this. Since
2004, China has opened 13 Confucius Institutes
and 24 Confucius Classrooms in Central Asian
countries, which currently have over 18,000
students.
From 2010 to 2018, the number of students from
Central Asian countries studying in China
increased from 11,930 to 29,885. The average
annual growth rate was 12.33%.
Since 2013, in addition to the successfully
established Confucius Institutes, the Chinese
leadership has sought to use the broadest possible
toolkit to form a positive image of the country
abroad. Among these tools are traditional media,
social networks, research apparatus, and the
cultural industry.
It should be noted that despite the powerful
economic development of the PRC, in relation to
investments and other resources from this country
to Central Asia, the countries of Central Asia need
more than balanced cooperation with the PRC. And
on the other hand, take an example from the field
of education in the PRC.
In this regard, Professor N.E.Karimova notes that
the capabilities of modern China on the world stage
exceed the capabilities of all previous Chinese
empires. China and its capabilities can be assessed
only in their entirety and only in a global context.
The Central Asian countries have a very important
choice - how to diversify investment sources, since
at present their main source is Beijing. Despite the
reforms being carried out, the PRC is not yet an
innovative country, not counting some companies.
Perhaps in the future, thanks to the reforms being
carried out, including achievements in the field of
R & D, this will become a reality.
According

to

the

scientist-sinologist

Sh.I.Shazamanov, in mid-2005, approximately 400
thousand Chinese youth received education
abroad.
In China, obtaining an education abroad has long
been considered important for the country's
development. It is believed that the first Chinese
people to travel abroad for educational purposes
was in the mid-18th century. In 1872, the Qing
government selected 30 teenagers from three
provinces: Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang, to
study in the United States of America. In just four
years, 120 children were sent, including Zhang
Tianyou, Ta Shaoyi, Yang Fu, and others, whose
names are widely known in modern China. This

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marked the beginning of China's initiative to
educate young people on a large scale in the United
States. In the mid-19th century, Germany's success
in higher education attracted the attention of the
ruling Qing dynasty and the educated Chinese
public, making the country one of the main
European destinations for Chinese students. In
1978, the 3rd Plenum of the 11th CPC Central
Committee decided to reform the country and
open its borders. Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping
made important remarks regarding the number of

Chinese students sent abroad: “I agree to increase

the number of students studying abroad, and they
will mainly study natural sciences. We will send
tens of thousa

nds of students abroad.” On

December 26, 1978, for the first time since the
Cultural Revolution, 52 students were selected to
go to the United States at government expense to
study advanced technology. In modern China, the
flow of people wishing to go abroad for educational
purposes is growing every year. Thus, from 2001
to 2018, the number of students who left increased
by 7.9 times, including from 2001 to 2010 - by 3.4,
and from 2010 to 2018 - by 2.3 times and
amounted to 662.1 thousand people in 2018.
In conclusion, it can be noted that Beijing will
further promote its interests in Central Asia,
primarily through the economy and soft power.
Education is one of the factors for the further
development of the country. Thanks to such
foundations in the field of human capital, the
Chinese government adopts and implements
strategic plans for the development of the PRC,
which ensure not only economic, technological, but
also geopolitical positions of the country in the
world. As an example, we can note the program
"Made in China-2025".

The current “Made in China 2025” program has key

directives in the field of artificial intelligence (AI),
where China wants to become a global leader by
2030 and is already ahead of its competitors in
terms of research papers, patents, cross-border

and global AI funding. In 2017, 48% of the world’s

AI startup funding came from China (up from
11.3% in 2016), compared to 38% from the United
States and 13% from the rest of the world.

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