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Accepted Paper:
COVID-19 and Sino-US Competition in Central Asia: An Appraisal
Mohammad Ali Zafar
(National Defence University)
COVID-19 has acted as a precursor to the ambitious agenda of the US and China in Central Asia. Economic impacts on Central Asian economies have added complexity to the growing urge for greater initiatives to overcome the socioeconomic challenges posed by COVID-19. China’s tender hug in the form of COVID diplomacy, followed by the losing position of the US, has raised the ante for increased Chinese influence in the region. The urge for an increase in investments, followed by the change of administration in Washington, has raised questions for Central Asian states over the geopolitical interplay between the great powers and regional actors. The paper explores how China, Russia, the US, and the EU tried to act as a "savior" for Central Asian economies by projecting their support for the region, but China comes out as the only successor because of its economic-strategic interests in the region and its role as a major long-term economic partner for regional economies. At the same time, China has been able to gain supremacy on the regional chessboard through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The paper concludes that the BRI acts as an incarnation of Chinese influence in the region, whereas the SCO projects China's soft power and adds strategic resilience to its regional goals. China’s geo-economic interests in the region are catalyzed by COVID, thus fostering the long-term economic cooperation offered by Beijing to Central Asian economies.