‘No One Stole Anyone Else’s Cheese’: The Politics of Infrastructural Competition in Kazakhstan

Since independence in 1991, Kazakhstan’s role in Central Asia and the world has evolved as it became a regional pivot, and central to the interests of the US and China. The Kazakhstani government has worked closely with the US since the 1990s on security issues. While China also has security interests in Kazakhstan, its primary interest has been economic, as it views Kazakhstan as a source of natural resources and a transit route. American and Chinese foreign policies towards Kazakhstan were compatible, and sometimes even complementary, until recently when their relationship has become competitive, particularly in the field of infrastructure construction. However, with the BRI and the US keen to expand economic ties with Kazakhstan, the country has become central to geopolitical-economic competition. This has offered the Kazakh government an opportunity to leverage the country’s strategic location as a pivot at the crossroads of Eurasia. By hedging between the US and China, Kazakhstan has secured support for its spatial objectives, which are centred around the idea that Kazakhstan become a central hub for goods transportation and engine of economic growth for the region. centrality to the US–China rivalry affords it agency, but in some instances, this has undermined the realization of its spatial objectives.