Page 11 - AsiaElec Week 04 2022

AsiaElec INVESTMENT AsiaElec

China promises more

investment at Central

Asia summit

CHINA CHINA’S president gathered his five Central $70bn by 2030. The figure has grown 25-fold in
Asian counterparts for a virtual jamboree on the last 20 years, from $1.5bn to $38.6bn in 2020,
January 25 to celebrate 30 years of diplomatic according to state-run People’s Daily. Leading
relations. The public announcements from the growth is Turkmenistan, which has seen
the meeting were rich with data and included trade grow nearly 200 times, to $6.5bn in 2020 –
the standard promises for further economic mostly in the form of natural gas exports.
integration. Total Chinese investment in Central Asia
Yet each Central Asian leader promoted his approached $40bn at the end of 2020, of which
own agenda, apparently less concerned about $21.4bn went to Kazakhstan, People’s Daily
regional issues than by their country’s bilateral reported; 7,700 Chinese firms were operating in
ties with the Chinese economic juggernaut. Central Asia at the end of 2021.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon spoke Xi also pledged $500mn in grants to Cen-
of the need to expand security cooperation in tral Asian countries within the next three years
light of threats from Afghanistan. Turkmeni- for socially important projects and 50mn more
stan’s Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov suggested doses of Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines this
increasing natural gas supplies to China by year.
building another pipeline. Uzbekistan’s Shavkat For all these plans to materialise, Beijing
Mirziyoyev and Kyrgyzstan’s Sadyr Japarov needs stability in Central Asia. It has evidently
called for construction of a long-mooted Chi- followed with concern the events in Kazakh-
na-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railroad. stan, where days of unrest amid a possible coup
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart attempt earlier this month left at least 227 dead.
Tokayev discussed the recent bloody unrest in To that end, Xi elicited soothing words
his country and pledged systematic reforms. from Central Asia’s leaders about their distaste
“We have started building a new Kazakhstan,” for “colour revolutions” – authoritarian short-
Tokayev said. He stressed that he is working to hand for popular protests. In a joint statement,
eliminate corruption in the customs service to the leaders also promised to support the “One
facilitate exports to China. China” policy, which sees Taiwan as an integral
For his part, Chinese President Xi Jinping part of the People’s Republic.
vowed to open China’s domestic market to more Unmentioned was the situation in Xinjiang:
Central Asian goods and agricultural products. the vast, Muslim-majority region bordering
This would be especially good news in Kazakh- Central Asia where China has incarcerated
stan, where exporters suffered significant losses up to a million people in re-education camps.
last year when China tightened border regula- It is a sensitive political issue in some Central
tions, allegedly due to the coronavirus. Asian countries, especially Kazakhstan and
The Chinese leader also said he wants to bring Kyrgyzstan.™
trade turnover between China and the region to

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