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.

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.

Source: News - South China Morning Post