When we look at the five central Asian republics, one thing Russia tried to do to maintain its hegemony or control over that area was to have the Eurasian Economic Union.
For me, when you look at the five countries, Kazakhstan is probably the strongest, as you mentioned in your opening remarks. But when you look at where the Russians are right now, in terms of their economy, there's a great paucity of trade within that Eurasian Union. What seems to be happening, especially with the one belt, one road initiative of China, is that the Chinese have, in many ways, infiltrated those republics. I don't have my notes in front of me, but there's one country in specific, and I think it's Tajikistan, that was very isolated, but where the Chinese have acted as their de facto bankers to the outside world.
So you have this natural tension now, because if you look at the sort of Russian sphere or the near abroad, their influence is waning. This area was supposed to be a bulwark for them, but now the Chinese have moved in, stealthily in a way. I know that in terms of the one belt, I think there's one stop in Almaty. Out of the five republics, three republics are on that route.
Going forward, do you think there's going to be a natural tension between Russian and China? How will it be resolved?