
Top Trump Administration officials have set countering China’s growing global influence as a top foreign policy priority. In Central Asia, US officials will face an uphill struggle in trying to reduce Beijing’s expanding economic footprint. Beijing has reinforced its position as the dominant economic player in the region, which sits on China’s western border, recording an almost 5 percent growth in trade turnover in 2024, according the data published by the country’s General Administration of Customs. China has muscled Russia…