INTRODUCTION  6

FROM INVESTMENT TO STRUCTURAL DEPENDENCE  9

THE EVOLUTION OF CHINA'S SECURITY STRATEGY IN CENTRAL ASIA  13

Stabilizing Xinjiang and the architecture of the "Shanghai Five" (1990s–early 2000s)  13

The Afghan factor and China's physical entrenchment in the region (2000s–2010s)  14

The commercialization of security  16

Arms exports and the training of military elites  17

THE TECHNOLOGICAL DIMENSION OF CHINA'S SECURITY PRESENCE (2022–PRESENT)  19

Digital securitization  19

BeiDou satellite navigation  21

Monopoly in the telecommunications sector  21

THE CONTOURS OF COMPETITION WITH RUSSIA  23

A DELICATE BALANCE  28

CONCLUSION  30