Kyrgyzstan rejects China railway project

Why did Kyrgyzstan refuse the Chinese railway project? Speaking at a press conference held in Bishkek, President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev announced that they had ceased to participate in the railway project under the initiative of China. In a statement, he said that Kyrgyzstan's withdrawal from China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway, which is a Chinese project, was understood by Bishkek with the opinion of experts that the project in question is not for the benefit of the country.
It is time to clearly state that China - Kyrgyzstan - Uzbekistan Railway needs more Beijing and Tashkent rather than Bishkek. Almazbek Atambayev, who had made the lobby of the Chinese initiative actively in the early days when the project was on the agenda, described the railway as a ız new silk road çıkan and said that those who opposed the project at that time were the enemies of Kyrgyzstan. he had to admit that he had not solved any problem.
The experts, including the dissidents, have already made their own assessments on the subject, with the additional financial or substandard resources to be allocated to China, which will be allocated to China by very serious financial burdens. they also stated that it would be very difficult to close. The financing scheme of Kyrgyzstan, which paved the way for the direct access of Kyrgyzstan to the silver, aluminum, copper and coal mines to implement its own project, was described as gümüş illegal g by the opposition. Alexey Vlasov, Head of the Research Center for the Post-Soviet States, argued that the project contradicted Russia's interests in the region:
The Chinese railway has different dimensions and features from the Russian railway. Many experts considered the situation as a fact that ensured the new strategic reality that emerged in the region. In the case of the realization of this project, China would take some economic and financial pressure on the countries in Central Asia, and thus add further to the US pressure already felt on the countries of the region and further increase the external economic pressure in the region. The project could have created serious problems for future Russian projects, including the integration projects of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
China - Kyrgyzstan - Uzbekistan Railway project was planned to be signed during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping last autumn. But this plan did not happen. At that time, it was not understood whether Tashkent or Bishkek had prevented the signing of the agreement. Despite all these developments, Aleksey Vlasov says it is too early to talk about China's defeat:
This project is an important part of China's policy to reach Central Asia. For this reason, Kyrgyzstan's rejection of the project in question restricts China's targets and aspirations to some extent. But China is acting in a different temporal rhythm than other actors in the region. For this reason, the failure does not mean that China has completely abandoned its infrastructure plans in the Central Asian region.
It is likely that Iran and China will jointly realize a railway project from Iran, starting from Iran, through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to China. Iran has repeatedly mentioned many projects and initiatives in the regional scale that are directly related to their economic interests. Aleksey Vlasov has made an important prediction about geopolitical reasons, saying that none of these initiatives have been implemented until now.
Relations between Iran and the US are changing. The possibility of alleviating the sanctions and embargoes imposed on Iran is likely. In the new ground formed by all these developments, Iran's initiatives and projects related to Central Asia will most likely not be impeded by the West. For this reason, it is possible for a possible Iranian railway project that will cost less than the project of China, and will attract the attention and interest of Kyrgyzstan in the future.
In the meantime, there is another point. Iran's railway project covers the countries in which the United States has started to take up a strong position. US Army, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are leaving Afghanistan today; that is, it plans to be located in a region close to the border with Afghanistan and China. From a geopolitical point of view, it is possible to say that this situation may limit Chinese opportunities in Central Asia.
For this reason, we can say that the United States will oppose any Iranian-Chinese railway that includes Central Asian countries. Because if this railway has emerged in the Strait of Hormuz, there will be an alternative additional income channel that Iran could supply oil to China. In line with these scenarios and forecasts, we can say that China will support Iran's railway project.
The Iranian - China railway will make Central Asia a field of deepening US - China competition in the region. And this will be one of the most important arguments that Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan's political elites will consider in making their final decisions on the project related to the railway that will pass through their own countries.