News Digest


Jul 19, 2020

Media Digest

Jul 19, 2020

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Biweekly CAW Media Digest.
The Digest provides updates on
the most recent developments in Central Asia.
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Representatives from all five Central Asian foreign ministries as well as the Chinese foreign ministry recently met for an online video conference to discuss regional affairs. This call focused on issues of cross-border trade and regional cooperation, and the Joint Statement released seemed to re-affirm Chinese involvement in regional development in the face of COVID-19-related obstacles.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev made a public show of support for Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the results of the Russian plebiscite, a move that could hint at a continued deference to Russia's role in Central Asia for the final potential 16 years of President Putin's reign. Regional leaders often their base political decisions and tactics on what they see carried out in Russia, and a delayed chance of the guard might simply lead to more of the same.
Roza Nurgozhayeva writes an interesting piece about the regional impact that China's BRI is having on Central Asian institutions and societies. Her recent article has raised questions about China's claim to regional hegemony and how local governments and organizations are reacting to Chinese legal and economic models.
The United States has leveled personal sanctions against several Chinese officials involved in the systemic abuse of Uyghurs and other minority groups in the Xinjiang region. Having been already warning countries about the threat of China, this is a step-up in terms of US escalation in the already bitter war of words between the two powers.
A return to lock-down status in Kazakhstan has been followed by the alleged manipulation of COVID-19 statistics by government officials. A startling rise in pneumonia cases calls into question whether COVID-19 patients are being intentionally diagnosed with the similar respiratory illness, but it could be that pneumonia is impacting already weakened individuals.
In a related incident, the Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan made a widely-circulated warning for Chinese citizens that Kazakhstan was experiencing a highly-dangerous outbreak of pneumonia. The claim, which alleged that the pneumonia outbreak was separate and even more deadly than COVID-19-related pneumonia infections, was quickly contested by Kazakh officials.



Regards,
CAW Team