[Asia Times] China moves in while Kremlin’s ability to maintain leadership in former Soviet region is constrained by the Ukraine war
China plays all sides. It's trade value with Central Asia is already greater than the Stans trade value with Russia.
Chinese are trying to reassure Russians who, having seen Chinese President Xi Jinping hold the first China-Central Asia Summit in Xi’an last week, are worried that Moscow will lose control in Central Asian countries it used to rule.
A Kremlin official and a Russian defense columnist have recently expressed concerns about the loosening ties between Russia and five former Soviet Union countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (C5).
The comments came after Beijing promised to offer 26 billion yuan (US$3.67 billion) of financial support and grant assistance to the five countries in the region.
Chinese commentators said Russians should not be over-worried as China is only taking care of C5 "on behalf of Russia."
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