Tajikistan's Chinese Gamble

Blanka Benkő-Kovács

Founder - Political Advisor, International Security and Defence Policy Expert

For most observers, Tajikistan is the forgotten country of Central Asia. It has neither Kazakhstan's vast oil reserves nor Uzbekistan's economic dynamism. It is not the region's demographic powerhouse, nor is it the largest recipient of Chinese investment. Yet Beijing has quietly transformed Tajikistan into one of the most revealing examples of what the Belt and Road Initiative can achieve and what it can cost.