China’s AI Offensive Gains Ground in Central Asia
GE Vernova Raises Outlook As AI Power Boom Masks Wind Weakness Eurasianet is an independent news organization that covers news from and about the South Caucasus and Central Asia, providing on-the-ground reporting and critical perspectives on… Central Asian states are tilting towards Beijing amid intensifyingcompetitionbetween the United States and China for predominance in artificial intelligence development.
Top officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan gathered recently in Shanghai to attend theWorld Artificial Intelligence Conference, where Chinese leader Xi Jinpingpresentedan ambitious vision for Beijing’s leadership in the global AI race.
The American and Chinese models for AI development differ significantly.
Ahead of the conference on July 16, officials from 29 countries, including the four participating Central Asian states,signed an agreementto establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), headquartered in Shanghai and apparently designed to help Beijing promote its global AI ambitions.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who notablyaddressed the AIgathering right after Xi’s opening speech,praisedChina’s leadership on AI, saying that “more than half of the world’s AI researchers are from the PRC, Chinese innovators hold the largest number of AI-related patents, and the country’s dynamic innovation ecosystem is advancing at a breakthrough pace across many areas of cutting-edge technology.” To prove his point, Tokayev offered to host WAICO’s first annual meeting in Astana, as well as set up WAICO’s Central Asian office in the Kazakh capital.
In addition, following Tokayev’s meetings withXiandChinese executives, more than70 dealsworth over $15 billion were signed, many of them dealing with AI, digital infrastructure and other high-tech initiatives.
Tajikistan’s Ministry of Industry and New Technologies also announcedbilateral agreementswith the PRC in Shanghai, while Uzbekistan’s digital development ministermet withmajor Chinese entities todiscussjointAI projects.
Those talks did not yield any specific deals, however.
Meanwhile, Turkmenistan did not send a delegation to Shanghai, but the country’s Ministry of Communicationssigned a MoUwith China’s National Development and Reform Commission, a powerful super-ministry, covering AI cooperation.
The $15 billion portfolio of deals signed in Shanghai also included agreements on transport, manufacturing, energy and critical minerals.
While few specifics have been disclosed, some of the major deals included: Separately, Kazakhstan’s prime ministerinstructedthe Ministry of Ecology and other agencies to finalize negotiations with China Tianying Inc within two weeks and submit for approval an investment agreement for the construction of new waste management facilities in at least three major Kazakh cities.
Kyrgyzstan’s state-owned agricultural company Kyrgyz Agroholdingsigned an MoUwith the China National Electric Engineering Corporation to bu.
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