As Central Asia builds ‘smart cities’ with China, is it moving away from Russia?

Central Asian governments are forging ahead with ambitious “smart city” mega-projects to tackle rapid population growth and ageing Soviet-era infrastructure.

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.

It comes as competition among major powers in Central Asia is intensifying, with the US-led C5+1 framework – dormant for years – regaining momentum amid renewed interest in critical minerals, supply chains and the strategic implications of the Ukraine war.

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.