Following the fall of the USSR Russians have been leaving the Far East of Russia and being replaced by Chinese immigrants and investments. This has led to growing concerns in Moscow:
But for all the fanfare surrounding the fund, Chinese investment in the region is helping to fuel tension, raising fears of China’s growing presence in the Russian Far East. A side effect of Beijing’s investment – an influx of Chinese migrants – is often perceived by locals as an expression of China’s de facto territorial expansion.
Now the Chinese are moving into Central Asia, into the former USSR republics
China’s Xi Jinping this week invited the leaders of the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia to a first joint summit in China, a bid to boost Beijing’s influence in Russia’s backyard.