China held its first diplomatic event of 2023 this week by hosting a summit with the Central Asian countries to show the growing importance of the region in China’s scheme of things. Western observers described the first in-person summit with the Central Asian leaders as ‘split screen diplomacy’ since it coincides with the summit of the Group of Seven (G7), a powerful grouping of 7 developed nations, in Japan’s Hiroshima this weekend.
The parallel attempt to assert its presence in the region comes at a time when the rivalry between the United States and China for influence has been rising fast.
‘Signal for India’
The summit of China and Central Asian countries, who are all core members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), could also be a signal for regional rival India, which as the current chair, is scheduled to host the SCO summit in Delhi in July.
India’s interest and stakes in the Central Asian region have also been on the rise in recent years.
At the Chinese city of Xi’an, leaders of all five Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan — were welcomed by China’s President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan.
The summit closely follows the visit of China’s special envoy Li Hui to Russia and Ukraine to find a way to bring the ongoing war in Ukraine to an early end.
The move is certainly aimed at countering Western propaganda about China’s aggressive rise in the Indo-Pacific by trying to show Beijing as a responsible global power that is looking for a solution to the devastating war that has affected a large number of countries, particularly the poor nations the most.
The China-Central Asian summit is the first such meeting at the highest political level in 31 years since diplomatic relations were established between the two sides.
China says the first head-of-state diplomacy will become a pivotal way to strengthen strategic mutual trust between China and Central Asia.
It also wants to deepen the relationships between countries on the basis of equality and mutual respect.
Stress will also be given at the summit for independence and autonomy to carry out cooperation based on respective interests, and friendly relations.
Chinese observers argued that China and Central Asia's relationship is not based on ideology or geopolitical boundaries but on mutual respect, supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all parties, and respecting each country's exploration of development paths that suit their national conditions.
They add that economic and trade cooperation is the cornerstone of the development of relations and the realisation of regional prosperity, and it will be a key area for countries to implement the principle of win-win cooperation.
China feels that economic development is of paramount importance for countries to achieve long-term stability and security.
Observers say to further deepen ties, the two sides need to promote common development and ensure mutual security and maintain regional peace.
Countering the US
A part of the Chinese urgency to engage and deepen cooperation with the region stems from the US’s growing interest there.
Since the Ukraine crisis, the US has been increasing interactions with Central Asian countries.
In February, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Central Asia and met with his counterparts in all five countries there.
US officials have said the Biden administration is seeking to step up engagement with the region, especially the countries facing economic fallout from the Ukraine conflict.
The foreign ministers of the G7 countries in their meeting last month also committed to collaborating on Central Asian challenges that included the fallout from the Ukraine crisis, Afghanistan's destabilisation, and food and energy insecurity.
But Chinese observers are also sceptical whether despite the promise the US was in a position to extend financial assistance to the region to deal with the impact of the Ukraine war and the Covid pandemic disruptions before that.
They pointed out that G7 countries are in a bind of financial problems, as reflected recently in the ongoing debt ceiling stalemate in the US.
China believes the US influence in the region has rapidly diminished since its hasty pull-out from Afghanistan.
After this, the US has been leaning toward Central Asian countries to maintain its interest and seeking to sow discord between these countries and China, Russia, allege Chinese experts.
The Russian angle
But China's prompt decision to consolidate its position further in Central Asia is also due to Russia’s preoccupation with the Ukraine war.
The Central Asian region, composed of former republics of the Soviet Union, had been under Russia’s influence for years.
But the post-Soviet Union break-up and the economic crisis that followed in Russia allowed China to expand its presence in the region.
In recent years China's footprint has grown further through infrastructure development in the Central Asian countries under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
However, despite its growing dependence on China, Russia is not too happy with the growing Chinese footprint in what it considers its backyard.
India’s presence in the region has also grown significantly in recent years as it provides a third option to the Russian and Chinese presence in the region.
With the US and other Western countries’ growing interest in Central Asia, the tussle for influence over this critical region among the major powers is likely to increase in the coming years.
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