China strengthens its role in Kyrgyzstan

China is steadily strengthening political and economic ties with small, landlocked Kyrgyzstan, with one eye on the sizeable energy reserves of its neighbors to the north and west. At the same time, Kyrgyzstan’s dependence on Chinese income and infrastructure grows deeper by the day.

Looking to fill the vacuum created when the Russians returned home from the five former Soviet Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, and the roubles dried up, China is now making moves to become the new Central Asian superpower. It is constructing roads, factories, power plants and pipelines and filling supermarket shelves with cut-price consumer goods bought with low-interest loans from Chinese banks.
One of the principal mechanisms by which China is expanding its influence in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The grouping was initially formed as the Shanghai Five in 1996, bringing together Russia, China and the three Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, being renamed when Uzbekistan joined in 2001.

Despite its cosmopolitan membership, China is clearly the driving force behind the SCO, giving the organization’s economic heavyweight the appearance of a well-intentioned mother hen. Last year saw Chinese President Hu Jintao’s first state visit to Kyrgyzstan as he attended the annual SCO summit in the capital Bishkek, promising other SCO member states that “China would promote regional economic co-operation to advance towards mutual benefits and all-win results.”

The growing influx of Chinese products into Kyrgyzstan has been accompanied by a similar inflow of Chinese citizens. Over the past 15 years Kyrgyzstan’s Chinese population has swelled from zero to around 100,000 in a total population of a little more than 5 million. These immigrants marry locals, obtain Kyrgyz citizenship, ramp up their business interests, and buy apartments. Current plans to make the yuan fully convertible in Kyrgyzstan will only serve to accelerate the flow of both Chinese currency and people.

One business analyst in Kyrgyzstan’s second city of Osh, who wished to remain anonymous, commented, “It’s obvious this country is fast becoming another Chinese satellite. Trade with China now accounts for almost 80% of Kyrgyz foreign turnover. The European Union and Russia seem to have no unified policy on Kyrgyzstan. In the end the Chinese will become so strong that they will directly influence government policy, and that will alter the foreign political orientation of Kyrgyzstan.”

Asia Times