Why the Kazakhstan intervention benefits China as well as Russia

Beijing’s support for the Moscow-led alliance’s actions to quell violence in the Central Asian nation shows value of regional stability to both powers

Chinese investment in the region has soared in recent years, with 56 projects worth nearly US$24.5 billion under way in Kazakhstan

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A freight train leaves Xian in northwest China for Kazakhstan, which has seen a boom in Chinese investments in recent years. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 8:00am, 16 Jan 2022

Russia’s involvement in Kazakhstan is a reminder for Beijing that it is still reliant on Moscow to secure its interests in Central Asia.

But experts said China would benefit from the Russian action to quell the unrest and had no intention of taking a bigger share of responsibility for the security of the region which forms its southwestern backyard.

Some 2,500 troops under the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) alliance arrived in Kazakhstan last week to help quell the worst violence in the 30 years since the country’s independence from the former Soviet Union.

The CSTO’s first intervention since its formation in 2002 was seen as a geopolitical triumph for Russia in Central Asia, as tensions with Washington mounted over its thousands of troops massed on the border with Ukraine.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Tuesday “the main mission of the CSTO peacekeeping forces has been successfully completed” and their withdrawal would occur within 10 days.

The CSTO engagement was also backed by Beijing, which has expanded its influence in Central Asia in recent years, building strong economic ties in the region through its Belt and Road Initiative.