The New Great Game

Lately, Nikkei Asia after focusing on Mongolia has featured Central Asia. These are five states of the region: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. All were members of the former Soviet Union and became independent 30 years ago.

Nikkei wants it readers to look at both the latest Big Stories, on Mongolia and on Central Asia, because historically the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, under the rule of such distinguished leaders as Chinggis Khan and Kublai Khan, were pioneers during their reigns of what today has become the "Belt and Road" initiative to link infrastructure and economy.

They could make it possible, because they governed the region from China to modern day Russia and Iran. Some historians argue that Mongolia created a global trade network for the first time in human history.

In this big story, the author mentions Samarkand in Uzbekistan as the capital of the empire of Timur, the conqueror who made the city a key economic and cultural hub linking East and West in the 14th century. Timur was a descendant of the Mongolian Empire.
 
China's current expansionism is a potential threat to these "stans", as is shown from their huge loans from the communist country, which account for 43% of the government's foreign debt in Kyrgyzstan and about 40% in Tajikistan. Still, considering their geopolitical positions, without making use of the opportunities that the Belt and Road Initiative offers them, a bright future for these countries is unimaginable.

The Great Game is a historical term referring to the political and diplomatic confrontation between the British and Russian Empires over Afghanistan and neighboring territories in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

In the main illustration to this big story, we see a chessboard with a toppled Eagle having failed in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, a Dragon has approached, while the Bear is watching from a distance.