MURGHAB, Tajikistan, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- China is expanding its economic, diplomatic and even military presence in Central Asia, officials say.
In Murghab, Tajikistan, a large customs post soon will open to handle trucks bringing Chinese clothing, electronics, appliances and other exports into the former Soviet republics.
"Trade is growing between China and all these countries around it," truckdriver Tu'er Hong told The New York Times.
Chinese state enterprises are building energy pipelines, railroads and highways in the vast region, while the government is opening Confucius Institutes to teach Mandarin.
"China's energy cooperation with Central Asian countries began in the 1990s, but in recent years, with the rapid growth of China's national strength, the country took advantage of the lack of initiative in the region by the United States and Russia," Chinese Gen. Liu Yazhou wrote in an article published last summer. "China has begun stimulating feverish consumerism in the area."
Fearful of U.S. encirclement, China joined sophisticated regional war games in Kazakhstan in September. And according to a State Department cable released by WikiLeaks, American officials suspected China of offering Kyrgyzstan $3 billion to shut down the Manas air base, which is key to supplying Afghanistan.
