Growing economic links and regional development in the Central Asian Republics and Xinjiang, China

This paper examines the recent contrasting economic growth trajectories of the Central Asian Republics (CARs) and the variations in their small but growing trade with Xinjiang, China's westernmost province. Proximity, economic structure, evolving transport linkages, complementary economic needs and assets, as well as cultural/ethnic issues are invoked to investigate and examine the evolving economic and trade linkages. Estimates by van Selm of predicted trade flows based on a gravity model are used as benchmarks to compare the actual volumes of trade to the theoretical predictions based on size of the economies and distance between the trading centers.