In their brief, Odilbek Manabov and Sabina Gulyamova, Research Assistant at the Center for Sustainable Development, examine the expanding role of Chinese companies in Kyrgyzstan’s water infrastructure, focusing on irrigation, hydropower, wastewater treatment and related engineering projects. The authors distinguish between Chinese state-backed financing and contracts awarded to Chinese firms through multilateral institutions, arguing that this distinction is essential for accurately assessing Beijing’s involvement.

The brief also analyses the strategic dimension of Kyrgyzstan–China water relations, particularly the significance of transboundary rivers feeding China’s Tarim Basin, the absence of a dedicated bilateral water-sharing framework, and the risks associated with technological dependence and limited domestic maintenance capacity. It concludes that Chinese participation can help Kyrgyzstan address major infrastructure gaps, but stresses the importance of strengthening local expertise, ensuring financial sustainability, improving hydrological data exchange and preserving effective regional coordination on water and energy issues.

Read on The Times of Central Asia

* 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.