Why Uzbekistan Is Becoming Central to China’s New Eurasian Strategy

Amid a fast-changing global geostrategic and geopolitical landscape, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is once again emerging as a driving force in Central Asia’s development.

The BRI, within the theoretical paradigms of geo-economics and complex interdependence, operates not only as a developmental project but also as a reshaping of the global economic order. Uzbekistan’s growing reputation as a bridge between East and West is more than an academic description; it reflects the country’s expanding strategic importance in a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape. The country’s geographical location provides it with a central position along the historic Silk Road, proximity to Eurasia’s largest consumer markets, and a key role in numerous BRI corridors.

Uzbekistan’s Strategic Geography Is Its Greatest Leverage

Within the theoretical frameworks of international relations, Uzbekistan pursues a multi-vector foreign policy, diversifying strategic partnerships with the West, Russia, China, and regional powers to maximize strategic benefits. However, it would be naïve to consider it passive neutrality; rather, it is an active, state-centered approach to structural constraints, in which middle powers use their geographic essentiality to determine the terms of engagement with great powers.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative offers a transformative framework to the Central Asian region, as it enables economies to move beyond dependence on natural resources and build diversified economic bases; addresses critical infrastructure gaps that act as major barriers to economic growth; and opens new pathways for economies to join and integrate global value chains. By providing technical assistance,........

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