China urged to enhance security, economic ties in Eurasia as tensions with West grow

President Xi Jinping on Tuesday pledged US$500 million in aid and 50 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
Analysts say China can ‘shape’ the security environment on its northwestern frontier and bolster economic influence with closer ties to the five nations

Belt and Road Initiative

Orange Wang

Published: 11:30pm, 26 Jan 2022

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China should enhance economic and security ties with Eurasia to offset resistance from the United States and its allies, but Beijing needs to be alert to geopolitical instability and anger over its alleged mistreatment of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, analysts said.

With relations between China and the US showing no signs of rapprochement, the world’s No 2 economy should look to its western neighbours for support, said Da Wei, director of the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University.

“Eurasia is the main battlefield for China’s diplomacy to develop and take initiatives,” he said at a forum held by Renmin University in Beijing on Tuesday.

Under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Eurasia encompasses Northeast Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and the Central Asian republics, which are a crucial nexus for cross-regional trade, investment and infrastructure development.

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“Eurasia is a big stage for us to shape security on our northwestern periphery, a big market for our Belt and Road Initiative construction and a big channel for westward opening up,” said Yang Bingjian, an official at the United Front Work Department, a branch of the Communist Party involved in extending China’s influence abroad.

The comments made at Tuesday’s forum came on the same day as President Xi Jinping chaired a virtual meeting with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, pledging US$500 million in aid and 50 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to the five nations.

Xi also said Beijing would support the nations to “walk their own path” and defend their sovereignty.

Annual trade between China and the five Central Asian nations rose 29.9 per cent from a year ago to US$50 billion in 2021, according to Chinese customs data.

Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China has overtaken Russia to become the largest investor in Central Asia, attracted by the region’s mineral deposits, export markets and a desire to ensure stability in Western Xinjiang.

But China must watch out as the region has been destabilised by the coronavirus pandemic, escalating competition between the US and Russia, and emerging nationalism and populism, said a report published by the Eurasian Research Institute of Renmin University on Tuesday.

“The vast majority of the five Central Asian nations’ population believe in Islam … These countries are more likely to listen to the slander of China on the Xinjiang issue by the US, sparking collective hatred against China,” the report said.

“As a result, China’s economic and trade cooperation with these countries will be greatly hindered, and investment may be suspended due to opposition from local people.

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“Drug trafficking, organised crime and terrorism have led to a sharp increase in security threats in Central Asia.

“These factors will directly affect the stability and security of China’s Xinjiang region and bring greater pressure to Xinjiang’s anti-terrorism efforts.”

China has faced challenges in Eurasia ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, said Deng Hao, secretary general at the China Centre for Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies.

Why China’s belt and road plans for Central Asia are changing

“First, it is the unprecedented strategic pressure from the US and other external forces, the second is the impact of a new round of nationalist forces within the region,” he said.

“Third, China’s own shortcomings are highlighted and magnified, such as lack of influence on regional security accidents and lack of effective means and tools.

“China’s soft power not only cannot be compared with the US, but also does not have an advantage compared with the European Union and Turkey.

“The level of institutionalisation of economic cooperation with regional countries is not high, and the economic influence is large but not strong.”