CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VIII (1) ContemporaryEurasia81 | Page 62

CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE: WHAT IS BISHKEK’S HEDGING STRATAGEM?
As for the Bishkek-Beijing relationship, the dual stratagem of security
cooperation in the SCO and economic association with the BRI is also
paying dividends. After longstanding Territorial Border issues were resolved
with China, despite a lingering resentment of the Kyrgyz people for the final
settlement, the door is open for Bishkek to rally around the BRI for
substantial infrastructure development. The ramifications conform to a
complex Chinese desire to establish the BRI as a core foreign policy priority,
at least for the coming years in which Kyrgyzstan plays a key role. 59
Certainly, Bishkek feels they have given enough to warrant a friendly
posture from Beijing, to incur a positive bargain for a good range of BRI
benefits.
Despite the burden of forgoing a truly independent foreign policy, by
hedging in both security and economic frameworks, Bishkek is keeping its
options open in the long-term, a sound strategy for a state in a volatile
geopolitical environment. It must carefully correlate its actions in
accordance with the Kremlin and Beijing, for the sake of national interests
and the sake of the Sino-Russian entente. Kyrgyzstan, on a path of newfound
stability, can consider itself a fulcrum on which both Moscow and Beijing’s
interests can be assessed. The dual nature of hierarchical overlap here can be
judged and the strength of the Sino-Russian entente can be evaluated.
59
Zhimin Chen, Guorong Zhou and Shichen Wang, “Facilitate Leadership and China’s New
World Role in the World”, Chinese Political Science Review, Vol. 3, No. 1 (March 2018): 22.
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