The New Dominion

Neweurasia, which is in my opinion one of the internet’s best resources for the latest information out of Central Asia, is hosting an end of the year collaborative project in which Central Asia bloggers contemplate the past year’s Central Asia events. The project is hosted here. Though the project was just opened and only three contributions have been made (more are expected), China has already entered the picture in the contribution by Ian, the writer behind Beyond the River, in his article on Tajikistan. Ian asserts with the help of a recent Economist article that China’s burgeoning middle class is producing an unprecedented demand for meat, which in turn has brought about artificial “shortages” of staple grains in countries which ironically are seeing actual surplus harvests; China’s market demands, in essence, have brought about inflation in many places and Tajikistan has been particularly hard hit.

It’s my prediction that if and when Neweurasia’s 2009 and 2010 yearly roundups occur, we’ll see an even bigger role for China in Central Asia affairs. Should this occur, Xinjiang’s geographical position alone inevitably means it, too, will play a more prominent role in the happenings of Central Asia.