China & Russia: Is Kazakhstan playing both sides? | Mapped Out

Kazakhstan is stuck between two superpower neighbors — Russia and China. Now it is trying to use its geography to its advantage. Kazakhstan has a long history of being ruled from Moscow, both during the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. During Soviet times, it was a test site for nuclear weapons and the launchpad for the first human in space: Yuri Gagarin launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Ever since Kazakh independence, the Central Asian country has kept close ties with Russia. Russia is its top trade partner, and has been a political and security backer. But Kazakhstan is also pushing to deepen ties with China. China has been investing billions in infrastructure there — as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global infrastructure project. For China, the so-called Middle Corridor through Kazakhstan is a way to have alternatives to send goods to Europe. After all, as the war in Iran has proven, shipping lanes like the Strait of Hormuz can easily be blocked. And Kazakhstan's move towards China has been accelerated by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It has turned Kazakhstan's geopolitical position as Russia's ally into even more of a balancing act. The world’s largest land-locked country is trying to stay close to both of its neighbors, without depending too much on either one of them. And it's looking to partners like US President Donald Trump, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan for critical minerals, oil and arms deals.

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