China has surpassed Russia as the biggest direct foreign investor in Central Asia, a resource-rich region that has long been in Moscow’s sphere of influence but is being increasingly courted by Beijing, according to data from the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB).China’s cumulative direct investment in Central Asia over the past decade exceeded $35 billion in 2025, the EDB said in a report published in December. Founded in 2006 by Russia and Kazakhstan, the bank promotes trade and economic integration among seven former Soviet republics.During a regional summit in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow’s cumulative direct investment in Central Asia, in comparison, was around $20 billion, a figure he admitted was “rather modest.”Moscow’s investment in Central Asia has dropped since 2022, driven by the economic toll of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions. In that time, China has expanded its economic footprint in the region.Focus On EnergyChina, the world’s largest energy importer, has invested heavily in Central Asia’s oil and gas sector even as it expands its investments in clean energy, mining processing, and transit infrastructure in the region.Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Central Asia’s two biggest economies, and energy-rich Turkmenistan have been the main recipients of Chinese investment. The three countries account for about 90 percent of total Chinese capital invested in the region, according to the EDB.