Page 55 - RusRPTAug24

bne August 2024 EuraEusraisaia I 55
“I note with satisfaction that Kazakh- Chinese relations, based on unbreakable friendship and mutual support, are developing at an unprecedented pace.
I highly appreciate your significant contribution to strengthening the eternal comprehensive strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and China.”
Kazakhstan is China's largest trading partner in the Central Asia region, with bilateral trade reaching $41bn in 2023, a 32% increase from the previous year. Key Kazakh exports to China include oil, metals, grain and other agricultural products.
In recent years, significant progress has been made in enhancing connectivity and economic integration through various BRI projects. Major projects include the Zhanatas wind farm, the Turgusun hydropower station, and the modernisation of the Shymkent Oil Refinery.
In Astana, Xi is attending the summit of the SCO, a regional political and security alliance established in 2001 by China and Russia. As well as the two founders and four of the five Central Asian republics,
it also includes India, Iran and Pakistan. Belarus is a prospective member.
The July 3-4 summit in Astana will focus on economic and energy issues while also addressing the geopolitical fallout from Russia's war on Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Astana for the summit on the morning of July 3.
China and Russia have grown closer since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, sharing a vision of a multipolar world order and reaching out to the Global South. However, the two nations vie for influence in Central Asia, a region historically under Moscow's sway but increasingly significant to Beijing's strategic interests.
Following the SCO summit, Xi will travel to Tajikistan to meet with President Emomali Rahmon, as well as to the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. The visits are part of China's broader strategy to expand its influence in Central Asia.
In recent years, China has stepped up its investments in Central Asia, financing mega-projects such as the China- Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway, and is also keen to build a railway linking the three countries.
Central Asia's strategic importance to China has only increased as the region grapples with internal and external challenges. With Russia's focus diverted to Ukraine and the US reducing its presence following the withdrawal from Afghanistan, China is poised to fill the power vacuum and enhance its role as
a key economic and security partner in the region.
Uzbekistan parliament remains unreformed ahead of the October general election
Ben Aris in Berlin
Earlier this month, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a legislative amendment increasing state funding for Uzbekistan's five legally registered political parties.
Under the current system, 40% of state funds for political parties are equally distributed among them, with the remaining 60% allocated based on the number of parliamentary seats held. This structure favours the ruling Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party (UzLiDeP), which is closely associated with President Mirziyoyev.
All five of the incumbent parties
are closely associated with the
executive and no opposition parties
are represented in parliament. While Mirziyoyev economic reforms have been extensive and highly successful, as bne
IntelliNews reported in the special report Uzbekistan rising, the political reforms have until been largely ignored.
However, there have been a few improvements on human right issues. Child labour used to bring in the cotton harvest has been ended. After Mirzi- yoyev took office in 2016 hundreds
of political prisoners were released. International media has been welcomed back into the country after almost a decade of exile.
The biggest gain to date has been changes to the constitution in April 2023 that improved labour and property rights guarantees, but most importantly enshrined a raft of women’s rights. However, writing women’s rights into the constitution is only the very first step in bolstering civil liberties that
eventually leads to things like gay marriage and Uzbekistan is only at the very start of that long journey.
And it should be noted that the changes to the constitution also reset the term- clock allowing Mirziyoyev to serve another two terms in office.
The new parliamentary party legislation only reinforces the existing system and will also benefit smaller parties, like the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan, which holds 15 seats in the 150-member lower chamber of the Oliy Majlis, the legis- lature. Despite UzLiDeP's dominance, the revised funding formula provides significant support to smaller parties.
UzLiDeP, the party of President Mirziyoyev, registered him as its candidate for the 2023 snap elections,
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