Xi Jinping pushes forward Central Asian defense cooperation plan

Chinese President Xi Jinping laid out an ambitious plan on Friday for cooperation with Central Asian countries on defense and security, pushing into a region traditionally seen as Russia’s backyard as Moscow moves into Ukraine. distracted by the war.

Hosting his first in-person summit with the leaders of the grouping known as the “C5” grouping of Central Asian countries, Xi also offered to enhance transport and energy ties with the region. The group includes Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

“Xi stressed that China is ready to help Central Asian countries improve their law enforcement, security and defense capacity building in an effort to safeguard regional peace,” Xinhua news agency reported.

For Beijing, Central Asia is vital to the security of its politically sensitive western Xinjiang region, where it has been accused of suppressing the Muslim Uyghur population. The region is an important source of land-based energy imports and a gateway for overland trade with Europe.

Russia is the dominant power in Central Asia, but its invasion of Ukraine has fueled unrest in the region. Moscow has also traditionally acted as a peacekeeper, but its ability to maintain stability has been in doubt after last year’s failure to stop border skirmishes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Xi, who hosted the two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xi’an, said Beijing would provide Rmb26bn ($3.7bn) in “financial aid” and “free aid” to the Central Asian country. He did not give further details.

Beijing will also boost cross-border freight volumes, including by upgrading ports to support a “cross-Caspian Sea” transport corridor, developing a China-Europe freight train hub, and encouraging the construction of warehouses in Central Asian countries.

China sees Central Asia as an important overland alternative to Europe’s maritime trade. But since the start of the Ukraine war, the northern part of this route through Russia has been disrupted.

This has prompted efforts to strengthen alternative corridors through the region that do not pass through Russia.

Xi said China would accelerate the construction of oil pipelines and increase oil and gas imports.

While Xi did not provide further details of the defense cooperation, analysts said China would be keen to launch a formal security cooperation arrangement.

This could take the form of further efforts to prevent terrorism – China is concerned that the region could act as a conduit for separatists entering Xinjiang – as well as state controls to assist countries with internal security. Let’s try to export our model.

Timur Umarov, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said China is likely to focus on reviving joint exercises involving its People’s Armed Police in Central Asia. Such exercises were held across the region in 2019 but were postponed during the pandemic.

Umarov said Tajikistan would be of particular interest to Beijing as the only country bordering both China and Afghanistan.

“Tajikistan’s army is not the strongest in Central Asia. So, from China’s point of view, it is an extension of Chinese national security to deepen cooperation there, he said.

Analysts said Beijing could also help build 5G networks equipped with its own social monitoring and control systems, such as advanced facial recognition software.

Both Moscow and Beijing fear insecurity in the region from so-called “colour revolutions” – pro-democracy movements they claim are backed by Western governments.

“They are not helping to overthrow Central Asian local officials with color revolutions,” said Chienyu Shih of Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research.

The European Union launched a new campaign on Friday to counter Chinese influence in the region. The EU saw “clear possibilities” for further cooperation and investment, the bloc’s trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said after a meeting in Kazakhstan with ministers from five Central Asian states.

Additional reporting by Max Seddon in Riga and Alice Hancock in Brussels