Rubio Heads To Central Asia As US Seeks Bigger Role In Region Dominated By Russia, China

This article was originally published in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Read the original article. 

By Alex Raufoglu and Zamira Eshanova

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio heads to Uzbekistan this weekend for talks with five Central Asian countries as the Trump administration seeks to strengthen commercial ties and expand Washington's strategic presence in the region.

Rubio will attend an October 17-20 ministerial meeting in Samarkand under the C5+1 format, bringing together the United States and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. He will also hold bilateral meetings with senior officials from all five countries and lead a commercial delegation of more than 200 business leaders, the State Department said on October 13.

The visit comes amid growing US interest in Central Asia's critical minerals, energy resources, and transport corridors as regional governments seek to diversify partnerships and reduce their dependence on traditional powers.

See Also: Russian Strike Kills At Least 8, Including 3 Children, In Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya, Kyiv Says

"There is unprecedented engagement between the US and Central Asian countries, and this trip, would be the first step toward even more, such as a presidential visit," Ken Moriyasu, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told RFE/RL.

"Central Asian countries are not really that comfortable replacing Russian dominance with Chinese dominance," he said, explaining why regional capitals are reaching out to Washington and European partners.

Russia's war against Ukraine has diverted Moscow's attention and resources, creating opportunities for other powers to deepen ties with Central Asia.

China, meanwhile, has expanded its regional presence through trade, infrastructure investment, and its flagship Belt and Road Initiative.

"The Trump administration is very much focused on its interests, on America's interests, and on the global competition with China," according to Ariel Cohen, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and managing director of the Energy, Growth and Security Program at the International Tax and Investment Center.

"Clearly, China is the dominant economic partner, and Russia still provides a lot of security connections, but the United States is not walking away and is not abandoning that sandbox," Cohen added.

Stronger economic and diplomatic ties could help Washington secure supply chains, expand commercial opportunities, and prevent any single power from gaining overwhelming influence across the region.

The planned delegation of more than 200 business leaders underscores the administration's emphasis on commercial diplomacy, analysts said, adding that Washington hopes the closer engagement will translate into investment and business agreements across a range of sectors.

"We’ve already made tremendous progress in furthering our relationships with the Central Asian nations, and we must continue to expand on those partnerships by removing the outdated, Soviet-era Jackson-Vanik trade restrictions," Republican Senator Steve Daines told RFE/RL, referring to legislation denies normal trade relations status to some current and former nonmarket economies, unless they adhere to certain freedom-of-emigration requirements.

Critical minerals are an important part of the picture, but Central Asia's strategic value also lies in its location between China, Russia, South Asia, and Europe. Transport routes linking the region to international markets have gained importance as governments seek alternatives to routes passing through Russia.

Moriyasu pointed to the Middle Corridor, which connects Central Asia across the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus toward Europe, as part of the wider strategic opportunity. A stronger US corporate presence along these routes could help establish lasting American economic interests in the region.

The visit's success will depend on whether the diplomatic momentum produces concrete investment commitments and sustained commercial engagement, rather than simply a high-profile gathering.

Central Asia In The Spotlight

Hosting the meeting gives Uzbekistan an opportunity to strengthen its relationship with Washington while raising its profile as a regional diplomatic hub.

President Shavkat Mirziyoev has repeatedly sought closer engagement with the United States. Washington has invited Mirziyoev and Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev to attend the G20 summit in Miami in December, according to background information provided for this report.

The diplomatic engagement has fueled speculation about a possible visit to Central Asia by President Donald Trump, which would be an unprecedented step for a sitting US leader and possibly give Washington more consistent access to regional leaders.

Laura Linderman, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council and director of programs at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, said Rubio's participation in the C5+1 meeting was already a positive development.

She said an expansion of the format to include Azerbaijan -- creating a C6+1 framework -- could make the engagement more ambitious.

"The event would be seen as an even bigger success if the US expanded the format to be C6+1 and included Azerbaijan as part of it," Linderman told RFE/RL.

A senior Wall Street executive traveling with Rubio's delegation to Samarkand said that, after several decades of working with the region, he had never seen such strong interest from American businesses. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

See Also: The Death of a Russian Plague Researcher, Explained by a Microbiologist

"We know that there are close personal ties between members of the Trump administration and some Central Asian presidents. But the current interest in Uzbekistan and other countries in the region goes beyond these relations. It is both personal and institutional," he told RFE/RL.

The growing interest from American companies is also driven by intensifying economic competition with China, the executive added.

"American business has realized that if they don't intensify their business activities in the region, China will soon swallow everything there. They want to compete with China globally and at its footsteps, since the region is right next to it," he said.

After Uzbekistan, Rubio will travel to Mumbai and Jamnagar, India, for his second official visit to the country this year. He is scheduled to meet government officials and business leaders to discuss the US-India strategic partnership, regional and global developments, energy cooperation, and commercial investment.

Copyright (c)2025 RFE/RL, Inc. Used with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

[Wc/VS]

Suggested Reading: