Paper short abstract:

This article analyzes China Telecom supporting development of ICT infrastructure in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It offers a multi-scalar analysis of countries’ bilateral relations, digital policy planning, and implementation of ICT projects by local firms in cooperation with Chinese counterparts.

Paper long abstract:

First mentioned in 2015 as a part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the Digital Silk Road (DSR) has since attracted heightened international attention and inspired polarizing interpretations. Critics believe that through the DSR investments China promotes and exports not only its tech products and standardsб but also its development model and a China-centered trade and financial system (Eurasia Group 2020; Hemmings 2020). Proponents, on the other hand, contend that China, enables countries in the Global South to bridge the digital divide and spur economic growth and sustainable development (Hernandez 2019; Sen and Bingqin 2019). Although there has been much research on the Chinese tech companies going out, more on the ground collaborations and tensions between Chinese tech firms and local state actors and state-owned tech companies have received limited attention. This article addresses this empirical gap by focusing on China Telecom supporting the development of ICT infrastructure in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and offering a multi-scalar (regional, national, and local) analysis of the countries’ bilateral relations, national digital industrial policy planning, and implementation of the ICT infrastructure projects by local firms in cooperation with the Chinese counterparts. Drawing from primary documents, secondary literature, and datasets of national agencies and public databases, this paper shows how the DSR concept is being appropriated by the countries’ industrial tech policy and provides an analysis of the firm collaboration during the DSR implementation stage in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan offering a closer look at the tension between broader national digital agendas and individual companies’ strategies.