As Central Asia builds ‘smart cities’ with China, is it moving away from Russia?
Lack of Russian involvement in the mega-projects is seen as part of a broader structural shift as the region moves ‘closer to the world’
They are also pulling in much-needed foreign investment, and China’s strong visibility in these projects – while Russia is notably absent – is fuelling debate over whether the region is trying to reduce its economic dependence on Moscow.
In recent years, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have all made progress on large-scale urban developments designed to house hundreds of thousands of residents.
These include Asman in Kyrgyzstan, Alatau in Kazakhstan, New Tashkent in Uzbekistan and Arkadag in Turkmenistan – each with an initial planned population of about 250,000.
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Why Russia might be warming to China’s presence in Central Asia
The prominence of Chinese companies in several of these projects has drawn attention.