* Eurasia witnessed easing political tensions in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, coupled with rising alternatives for multilateral political and financial cooperation with China.
* Despite lingering tensions, solidarity and cooperation remained the defining themes throughout Central Asia and the South Caucasus in 2025.
MOSCOW, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) — Eurasia has emerged as a pivotal area of worldwide developments in 2025 amid turbulence, uncertainty, in addition to hopes for peace and aspirations for prosperity.
Against the backdrop of continued preventing and diplomatic efforts surrounding the Ukraine disaster, Eurasia additionally witnessed easing political tensions in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, coupled with rising alternatives for multilateral political and financial cooperation with China.
LONG-LASTING TALKS, OPEN-ENDED CONFLICT
The Ukraine disaster has dragged on for 3 years and 10 months, with no decisive shifts on the battlefield so far, whereas Russia presently holds a sure benefit.
Amid sporadic ceasefire pledges and extended hostilities, each Russia and Ukraine engaged in negotiations geared toward ending the battle, but none yielded an enduring halt to the preventing.
The restricted 30-day ceasefire focusing on vitality infrastructure beginning in March and the Easter truce in April solely led to either side accusing one another of violations.
The three rounds of direct talks from May to July between Moscow and Kiev, the primary since negotiations had been suspended in March 2022, failed to realize any main breakthrough, regardless of restricted outcomes together with prisoner exchanges and the return of the our bodies of fallen troopers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump met on Aug. 15 within the U.S. state of Alaska, with out chopping any concrete deal, whereas Ukraine, together with different European nations, voiced issues about being sidelined.
The United States proposed a 28-point plan in November, which was later revised by Ukraine and European nations, however nonetheless failed to achieve full acceptance from Russia. The December rendezvous of the United States, Europe, Russia and Ukraine in Miami, Florida, noticed no important progress.
Analysts famous that, with deep-seated disagreements remaining over points comparable to territorial disputes, safety ensures for Ukraine, peacekeeping preparations and the dealing with of Russian belongings, prospects for resolving the battle stay unsure.
On the battlefield, Russian forces have taken management of greater than 300 populated areas to date this 12 months, together with the lately captured strategic logistics hub Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk), whereas Ukrainian forces have continued to counter Russian advances in elements of the Sumy, Kharkov, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia areas, and launched frequent artillery and drone assaults on a number of areas in western Russia. That stated, the battlefield state of affairs has grown more and more difficult for Ukraine.
“There will be no resolution to the Ukraine crisis given the lack of fundamental adjustments to the security concepts and strategic decisions of all parties involved,” stated Han Lu, deputy director of the Department for European-Central Asian Studies on the China Institute of International Studies.
“Trump will only exert maximum pressure on Ukraine to serve his political success in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, as he has no more leverage to use against Russia,” Han added.
NAVIGATING THROUGH TURMOIL
Despite lingering tensions, solidarity and cooperation remained the defining themes throughout Central Asia and the South Caucasus in 2025. Countries within the areas moved to resolve long-standing disputes, deepen regional integration and adapt to the evolving Eurasian geopolitical panorama.
Central Asia noticed tangible progress in regional reconciliation and coordination. A landmark improvement got here in March, when the presidents of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed a treaty defining the tripoint junction of their nationwide borders, legally finishing the border delimitation course of among the many nations. The peaceable settlement of border points by session signaled a rising capability inside Central Asia to handle delicate points by dialogue.
Five Central Asian leaders permitted Azerbaijan’s accession as a full member of their consultative mechanism in November, injecting new momentum into the framework, and increasing commerce, funding, cultural ties and coordinated improvement throughout two strategically very important areas.
Leveraging its strategic location and sources, Central Asian nations considerably enhanced their world standing by frequent high-level conferences and strengthened dialogue mechanisms with main world gamers together with China, Russia, the United States, Japan and the EU.
In the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan and Armenia made historic strides towards normalization of ties, signing in August a peace settlement geared toward ending a long time of border battle and lifting transit restrictions in October. This improved safety panorama has revitalized regional connectivity, reinforcing the strategic worth of transport corridors linking China and Central Asia to Europe.
WIN-WIN COOPERATION WITH CHINA
In 2025, nations throughout the area continued to deepen pleasant relations with China, injecting larger stability and optimistic vitality into regional and world peace and improvement.
Heads of state of China and Russia attended one another’s celebrations marking the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, demonstrating major-country obligations as the principle victors in World War II (WWII), and reaffirming their agency resolve to safeguard WWII outcomes and uphold the proper historic perspective on the warfare.
Practical cooperation between the 2 nations has maintained regular progress. The first 11 months in 2025 noticed two-way commerce quantity to 203.67 billion U.S. {dollars}, which exceeded the 200 billion-dollar threshold for 3 consecutive years.
Key tasks such because the China-Russia Eastern Route Natural Gas Pipeline, the Heihe Highway Bridge and the Tongjiang Railway Bridge have been advancing easily. Visa-free coverage between the 2 nations and China-Russia Year of Culture with a whole lot of various occasions additionally considerably bolstered people-to-people exchanges.
Political mutual belief between China and Belarus was additional consolidated. The 2024-2025 China-Belarus Year of Science, Technology and Innovation wrapped up efficiently, and the 2026-2027 interval was designated because the Year of Industrial Cooperation. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko famous that China is Belarus’s second-largest buying and selling companion, offering sturdy assist for Belarus’s financial improvement.
Azerbaijan upgraded its relations with China to a complete strategic partnership, with cooperation increasing to inexperienced improvement, digital economic system, science, expertise and aerospace sectors. China additionally established a strategic partnership with Armenia, and signed a memorandum of understanding with Georgia to conclude the negotiations on upgrading their free commerce settlement.
The Second China-Central Asia Summit held in Kazakhstan in June yielded over 100 cooperation outcomes, fostering broad consensus between China and the 5 Central Asian nations on cooperation in safety, commerce and improvement, and signing a treaty on everlasting good-neighborliness.
In the primary three quarters of 2025, two-way commerce between China and the 5 Central Asian nations neared 80 billion U.S. {dollars}, up 15.6 p.c year-on-year, and is anticipated to exceed the 100 billion-dollar threshold by year-end. Major tasks such because the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway have been making stable progress.
Agreements had been additionally reached in areas comparable to crucial minerals, plane procurement and financing for key infrastructure, reflecting efforts to maneuver up the worth chain and seize larger industrial and processing capability.
“China is poised to lead in AI, biotechnology, new materials and 6G technologies,” stated former Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Alikbek Dzhekshenkulov. “The transition to a low-carbon economy will create demand for joint projects in energy, e-mobility and climate adaptation, while digital infrastructure and e-commerce will provide foreign companies with access to Chinese innovations and markets.”
China maintained frequent interactions and in-depth consultations with these nations inside multilateral frameworks for expanded cooperation.
During the BRICS Summit in Brazil, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan joined the bloc as companion nations. On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Tianjin Summit, China and Armenia signed a number of bilateral cooperation paperwork in market supervision and metrology. Chinese and Kazakh presidents collectively witnessed the inauguration of two new Luban Workshops in Kazakhstan. China and Azerbaijan signed a collection of agreements overlaying inexperienced improvement and digital economic system.
Looking forward to 2026, Kyrgyzstan will take over because the rotating presidency of the SCO. Events, together with the tenth China-Russia Expo and the sixth China-Russia Local Cooperation Forum, will probably be held in China. Exchanges and cooperation between China and Eurasia nations will attain a brand new peak, collectively writing a brand new chapter of mutual profit and win-win outcomes.