BRI and SINO-Russian Relations in Central Asia

Nowadays the Russian-Chinese relations have become strategic, which is due to a number of developments: the deep crisis in the Russian-U.S. and Russian-EU relations and, against that backdrop, a pivot to the East announced by Moscow. This format of relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Russian Federation, two key regional players in Central Asia, creates new circumstances for the regional countries, and this may particularly affect the implementation of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that opens up a window of opportunity for the Central Asian nations to successfully implement infrastructure projects.