China’s Influence Is Growing in Kyrgyzstan
(Translated)

Al-Rayah Newspaper - Issue 572 - 05/11/2025

By Ustadh Mumtaz Mawara Al-Nahri

Kyrgyzstan is becoming increasingly subject to China’s expansionist policies, as evidenced by a number of agreements and major projects between the two countries. On October 21, 2025, the Kyrgyz Presidential National Investment Agency announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese company to build the Asman City in Issyk-Kul. The project’s cost was estimated at approximately $20 billion, according to data from the Ministry of Economy. President Japarov had previously linked the project’s implementation to modifications and adherence to environmental requirements.

It is well known that projects such as “green economy” and “green city” are nothing more than traps serving the interests of capitalists, who exploit such projects under the guise of investment, to reap enormous profits. Loans, grants, and investments allocated to environmental projects are often accompanied by strict conditions, prioritizing the demands of the funding entity above all others.

Given China’s soft power approach, it is likely that shares within the planned city will be allocated to Chinese investors. The funds spent on the project will then be considered a debt owed by Kyrgyzstan, potentially becoming an additional tool of pressure.

It is worth noting that the largest share of Kyrgyzstan’s current external debt is owed to China, with the total debt amounting to about $5.2 billion, of which approximately $2 billion is owed to China. This amount is expected to double with the implementation of huge projects such as the railway line between China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

Furthermore, China is Kyrgyzstan’s main trading partner, accounting for approximately one-third, 36.6%, of its total trade. Trade between Kyrgyzstan and China reached approximately $22.7 billion in 2024, a 15% increase compared to the previous year. Chinese investment in Kyrgyzstan is also steadily growing, with foreign direct investment inflows to the country reaching approximately $747 million in the first nine months of 2024, of which 30%, approximately $221.5 million, originated from China.

In addition, Chinese companies own more than 80% of the market share in Kyrgyzstan’s mining sector and are heavily involved in gold and precious metal extraction. These companies often export the ore, which understates the reported quantities of gold and precious metals extracted. More than 300 Chinese companies operate in the country, along with approximately 200 Kyrgyz-Chinese joint ventures.

China’s penetration of Kyrgyzstan has not been limited to the economic sphere; it has extended to other areas such as tourism and business. Recently, there has been a noticeable increase in Chinese purchases of real estate in the country under the guise of tourism or investment. Furthermore, the implementation of a visa-free regime for Chinese citizens in Kyrgyzstan has paved the way for their consolidation and expansion within the country.

Crimes committed by Chinese nationals are becoming increasingly common in the country. A prime example is the incident on October 24th, when a Kyrgyz woman was thrown from a high-rise building after an altercation with two Chinese men. A video circulating on social media shows the two men watching as the woman dangled from the balcony before falling.

From this we conclude that the increasing Chinese influence in the region poses a real danger to Muslims, and we should not be deceived by some improvements in infrastructure or the launch of strategic projects, because in reality they increase our dependence on China and restrict our economic and political will.

It is well known that atheist China has been systematically persecuting Muslims in East Turkestan for decades, arresting and displacing them, preventing them from practicing their religion, and even forcing them to eat pork, drink alcohol, and renounce their faith. Our Muslim sisters are also being forced to marry Han Chinese men. Millions of our Uyghur brothers and sisters have been thrown into camps they call “re-education camps,” where many have been subjected to torture and murder.

While the kafir world order and the international system turn a blind eye to these Chinese crimes, the rulers of Muslim countries remain silent as if they implicitly approve of what is happening! Hence, no one can guarantee that China will not continue its criminal policies in Turkestan within Central Asia, including Kyrgyzstan.

One cannot expect rescue from Chinese hegemony from international organizations, because these organizations were originally established to ensure the continued control of major colonialist powers. For example, what has the United Nations done about the crimes and persecution committed by the Chinese regime against the Uyghurs and other Muslims? It has done nothing, because China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council!

Likewise, it is not permissible to rely on America for salvation, as it is another criminal colonialist state, and what it did in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Gaza has not been forgotten by anyone.

Russia is not the solution either; it is an old colonizer of Central Asia, and today it is weak in the face of China and is giving it room to expand in the region.

The only way to liberate ourselves from Chinese colonialism is through Islam! Islam alone is capable of unifying Muslims in this region under one Rayah banner and one shield, just as it unified Muslims in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah under the leadership of the Islamic state, that conquered Persia and Rome, breaking the hegemony of the great empires of that time.

The goal is not to enslave peoples as colonialist powers do today, but to bring people out of the darkness of ignorance into the light of Iman, and from the oppression of tyrants to the justice of Islam.

The issue of Muslims will not be resolved except by establishing the Second Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly Guided Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood, the state that will be a shield for them and a fortress that protects them, that will unify almost two billion Muslims in the world, and will eliminate the injustice of the colonialist states and spread justice and truth on earth.