In his policy brief, Eugenio Ciarlandini examines whether China’s economic outreach through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Uzbekistan has translated into genuine cultural influence or merely reinforced existing economic dependencies. Since President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s accession in 2016, Tashkent has pursued a multi-vector strategy, welcoming infrastructure investment to modernize transport links and diversify its external partnerships. His analysis begins by charting the brass-tacks achievements of the BRI — most notably the Angren–Pop railway, completed in 2016 to bypass Tajikistan, and the 2024 agreement on the Kashgar–Andijan–Jalal-Abad link — which have undeniably cemented Uzbekistan’s role in East–West trade flows and channelled nearly $90 billion in commerce between Central Asia and Xinjiang.
Eugenio argues that the material benefits are clear: between 2022 and 2023, Uzbekistan’s foreign direct investment almost doubled to $7.2 billion, with Chinese capital nearly twice that of Russia’s, and GDP growth comfortably exceeding 6 percent through 2024. These figures attest to the BRI’s success in stimulating the transport, energy and construction sectors, creating local jobs and unlocking trans-Eurasian supply-chain efficiencies. Yet this economic momentum has not been matched by a corresponding upsurge in Chinese cultural presence: there remains a conspicuous absence of Confucius Institutes, Mandarin curriculum expansion or Chinese media penetration in Uzbek public life.
The author further contends that Russia’s cultural legacy retains its primacy in Uzbekistan. Russian remains the lingua franca of business, government and higher education, while a growing cohort of Uzbek students opts for Western universities and professional opportunities in North America and Europe. This persistence of Russian soft power, alongside emerging Western cultural influences, suggests that Uzbek society has not realigned its cultural orientations in step with its economic pivot toward Beijing.
In assessing China’s strategy, he maintains that its heavy emphasis on hard infrastructure — while effective in forging tangible connectivity — has overlooked the necessity of people-to-people engagement. The BRI’s evolving model, which now favours targeted, sector-specific investments, presents an opening for expanded cultural diplomacy. He proposes that Beijing supplement its infrastructure portfolio with robust academic exchanges, language programmes and joint media initiatives to cultivate deeper mutual understanding and sustained influence.
Finally, Eugenio recommends that Uzbekistan leverage its position not only to host Chinese-financed projects but also to assert greater cultural agency. Tashkent should negotiate BRI partnerships that bundle infrastructure financing with cultural cooperation clauses — such as scholarship quotas, cultural festivals and collaborative research centres. By doing so, Uzbekistan can ensure that its Silk Road resurgence fosters not only the flow of goods and capital, but also a reciprocally enriching exchange of ideas and values.
* The Institute for Advanced International Studies (IAIS) does not take institutional positions on any issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IAIS.
