Solid geopolitical reasons underpin Xi's choice of Kazakhstan for his first foreign trip since 2020
newspaper that “Kazakhstan is understandably nervous that Russia might one day turn its attention to ‘liberating’ the sizeable Russian population still living in northern Kazakhstan.”
Mason explained: “So Xi’s visit to Kazakhstan can be seen as a sign that Beijing sees Kazakhstan as a friend and Russia should not do anything to hurt Beijing’s friend.” Meanwhile, China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative —a development strategy that links nearly 150 countries in a sprawling program of infrastructure building—was launched by Xi in 2013 during a visit to Kazakhstan’s capital Astana. Besides its economic benefits, the BRI is seen by Beijing as a way of increasing its global clout and in particular of practicing, the BRI has run into a slew of challenges, from unfavorable shifts in the geopolitical climate to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is all about the ‘renewal of vows'” on the Belt and Road Initiative, says Yun Sun, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Stimson Centre. “The country is where it all started. That’s why he is going.” A Kazakh family watch a documentary on China-Kazakhstan economic cooperation at their home in Astana, then called Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, on Oct. 9, 2020.Zhiqun Zhu, a professor of political science and international relations at Bucknell University, who is currently a U.S. Fulbright Scholar at Australia’s Griffith University, says that in stepping beyond China’s borders Xi may also be sending a message that his country will gradually reopen. International travel could resume as COVID-19 abates.
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