Why is Trump hosting C Asia leaders; can he compete with Russia, China?

United States President Donald Trump volition big the heads of 5 Central Asian countries – Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan – successful an yearly acme successful Washington, DC, connected Thursday. The group, founded successful 2015, is known arsenic C5+1, which refers to the 5 Central Asian countries and the US.

According to the US Department of State, the forum aims to summation practice betwixt Washington and the Central Asian countries to “advance determination solutions to planetary challenges” done “fair and reciprocal economical partnerships, accrued vigor security, and promoting bid done strength”.

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“C5+1 moving groups enactment 3 pillars of engagement: economy, energy, and security,” it added.

But Thursday’s gathering with the heads of erstwhile Soviet republics comes arsenic both Russia and China look to unafraid their ain commercialized deals successful the region.

Shairbek Dzhuraev, president of Crossroads Central Asia, an autarkic probe institute, told Al Jazeera that helium expects commercialized agreements to beryllium discussed connected Thursday, particularly those involving “critical mineral resources”.

Here’s what we cognize astir the summit:

What is the C5+1?

The forum was established successful 2015 astatine its archetypal gathering successful Samarkand, Uzbekistan, erstwhile the overseas ministers of the six countries pledged to deepen practice implicit trade, transport, vigor and communications.

Talks were besides utilized to sermon information concerns relating to the warfare successful Afghanistan earlier the US pulled retired successful 2021.

In 2023, then-US President Joe Biden held a gathering with Central Asian leaders connected the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly for the archetypal clip arsenic well, marking a important displacement successful US absorption to the region.

According to a connection issued by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the treatment betwixt the 2 leaders successful 2023 addressed “strengthening practice to code information challenges, including threats specified arsenic cybersecurity, terrorism, extremism, amerciable migration and cause trafficking”.

Biden hailed the inaugural gathering of the leaders arsenic a “historic moment” and claimed the countries were gathering connected years of “close cooperation”. “A practice that is grounded successful our shared committedness to sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity,” helium said.

What commercialized deals person been agreed by the US successful Central Asia recently?

In the archetypal six months of Trump’s 2nd term, the US has signed commercialized deals with Central Asia worthy a corporate $12.4bn.

In September, Trump hailed Uzbekistan’s government’s $8bn woody with US aviation manufacturer, Boeing, to bargain Dreamliner craft arsenic a “great deal”, successful a station connected his societal media platform, Truth Social. Welcoming the woody signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for Uzbekistan Airways to get 22 Dreamliners, Trump said it would make much than 35,000 jobs successful the US. 

“President Mirziyoyev is simply a antheral of his word, and we volition proceed to enactment connected galore much items,” Trump wrote.

The aforesaid month, Kazakhstan signed a $4.2bn statement with the US ​​locomotive parts shaper Wabtec. According to the US Department of Commerce, the statement volition supply Kazakhstan with 300 locomotive kits to physique locomotives for the Kazakh nationalist obstruction company, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy.

Trump, again, took to Truth Social to trumpet the deal, referring to it arsenic “the largest Railroad Equipment Purchase successful History”.

Concentrated bauxite, from which rare-earth metals tin beryllium extracted, and robust ore astatine the ore terminal successful Yantai Port, Shandong, China connected October 29, 2025 [CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images]

Why are rare-earth minerals apical of the docket this year?

Central Asia has abundant reserves of rare-earth metals, which are important for the manufacture of everything from smartphones to aerial unit jets.

In April, Kazakhstan reported that geologists had discovered deposits of the rare-earth metals, cerium, lanthanum, neodymium and yttrium – which are utilized successful the manufacture of components of smartphones and machine hard disks.

While inactive preliminary, arsenic the deposits request to beryllium verified and processed, the deposits’ tract successful Karagandy, cardinal Kazakhstan, is estimated to incorporate much than 20 cardinal tonnes of these metals, according to the Ministry of Industry and Construction. If that proves to beryllium correct, it is adjacent to fractional the rare-earth resources of China, which has the astir successful the world.

At the extremity of October, Kazakhstan’s Bank for Development announced the motorboat of a $1bn financing programme to extract and process the rare-earth metals betwixt 2025 and 2030.

Rare-earth metals, which are important for the manufacture of defence equipment, smartphones, electrical vehicles and for the improvement of AI exertion among galore different uses, person go a flash constituent successful the commercialized warfare betwixt the US and China implicit the past year.

Since taking bureau successful January, Trump has spoken often of the value of the US acquiring much rare-earth materials and making it a apical overseas argumentation goal.

China is location to the world’s largest reserves of rare-earth materials astatine 44 cardinal tonnes. It besides processes 90 percent of the world’s uncommon earths. The state has deposits of 12 of the 17 rare-earth metals connected the periodic table, but placed restrictions connected exports of 7 of these successful April this year. In October, it announced restrictions connected 5 more, but has since agreed to hold those during talks betwixt Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping successful South Korea past week.

The US is actively seeking uncommon world deals successful different parts of the world. In October, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described a model statement it had reached with the US arsenic supporting a pipeline of $8.5bn “ready-to-go” projects which volition alteration Australia to massively summation its mining and processing capabilities. The 2 countries volition each put $1bn implicit the adjacent six months into mining projects.

Meanwhile, a US statement to assistance with the rebuilding of Ukraine aft the warfare with Russia ends, besides features US entree to uncommon world deposits successful the country. In May, pursuing months of negotiations, the 2 countries signed a rare-earth minerals woody that would springiness the US preferential entree to caller minerals and earthy resources licences successful Ukraine.

It is, therefore, unsurprising that Trump is present funny successful Central Asia. Dzhuraev explained that the portion is “rich with mineral resources of assorted forms, peculiarly Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the 2 biggest economies of the region”.

“So I expect definite talks connected this subject, whether it volition travel retired into immoderate nationalist announcement oregon not, I don’t know, but that volition beryllium the 1 large topic,” helium said.

Who other is looking to cement relations successful Central Asia?

Two of the US’s biggest rivals: Russia and China.

In October, Russia held its 2nd Central Asia acme successful Tajikistan, successful which President Vladimir Putin besides called for enhanced commercialized relations. The archetypal gathering was held successful 2022, astatine which the six countries agreed to fortify relations.

Much of Central Asia erstwhile fell wrong the Soviet Union, making this a portion that is adjacent to Putin’s heart.

In an code to the 5 different heads of authorities wrong the region, Putin affirmed Moscow’s committedness to “further strengthening the strategical concern and confederation with your states, arsenic good arsenic deepening constructive political, economic, and taste ties”.

“Significant advancement has already been achieved successful each these areas. For instance, past year’s commercialized betwixt Russia and the Central Asian states, the 5 nations, exceeded $45 billion. This is mostly a bully result,” helium said.

According to the Observatory for Economic Complexity, a commercialized information visualisation platform, successful 2023, the astir communal destinations for Russian exports included China astatine $129bn, India astatine $66.1bn, Turkiye astatine $31bn and Kazakhstan astatine $16.1bn.

Meanwhile, China has besides been angling to up its power successful the region.

During a Kazakh-Chinese Business Council gathering successful Beijing, which was attended by Kazakh President Tokayev and elder Chinese representatives successful September, the 2 countries signed 70 commercialized agreements worthy astir $15bn, according to the Kazakh quality agency, The Astana Times.

According to the Eurasian Development Bank, communal commercialized betwixt China and Central Asia successful 2024 amounted to $66.2bn.

Will the US marque inroads successful Central Asia against this competition?

Dzhuraev said the US volition conflict to vie with Russia and China erstwhile it comes to making commercialized deals with Central Asian countries.

“The Central Asian region, economically, politically and geographically, are precise adjacent to some China and Russia, and this is specified a happening wherever this is truly not a question of choosing governmental oregon geopolitical loyalty. This is simply a hard geopolitical world connected the ground,” helium said, adding the champion the US tin anticipation for close present is to support immoderate benignant of “footprint” successful the region.