Global Powers Jockey for Position in Strategic, Resource-Rich Central Asia

With an eye on rich natural resources and overland trade routes, Brussels, Beijing, and Washington are all vying for influence in the five Central Asian states.

Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov (L), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (C) and Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (R) at the EU-Central Asia summit in Samarkand on April 4, 2025. Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP via Getty Images

Speaking recently in Kazakhstan, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described Central Asia as a vital “crossroads” between East and West—a region, she said, that plays a “strategic role in the global scenario.”

Her remarks were more than mere diplomatic hyperbole. Along with being rich in natural resources, Central Asia is home to several emerging transit routes poised to change the dynamics of trade between Asia and Europe.