Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, China had greater ambitions to establish cordial relations with newly independent CARs, which had not previously been the case due to Sino-Soviet animosity. In addition, the geopolitical vacuum left by the collapse of the Soviet Union has offered enough possibilities for Beijing to expand its commercial and economic links with Central Asia. Similarly, the Central Asian republics were in severe need of economic stabilisation and saw China as a possible alternative. However, this mutual interchange eventually proved asymmetrical, with major consequences for Central Asia.
To understand the Chinese objectives in Central Asia and how the Central Asia elites and local population responded to it, listen to this insightful podcast by Mr Raffaelo Pantucci, and Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Senior Research Associate, VIF.
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