Competition and Cooperation in the Critical Minerals Sector under the Central Asia C5+1 Mechanisms

The world is currently undergoing an accelerating evolution of transformations unseen in a century. As the global green transition and technological competition intensify, critical minerals have emerged as a central arena for geopolitical contestation among major powers. Endowed with abundant uranium, lithium, rare earth elements, and various other strategic minerals, Central Asia is transforming from a landlocked backwater into a pivotal Eurasian hub. In this context, major state actors have established cooperative frameworks with the five Central Asian nations-Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan-through “C5+1” or analogous summit mechanisms, giving rise to a complex landscape of competition and cooperation. This paper systematically reviews the key projects and cooperation progress of China, the United States, Russia, Japan, and the European Union in Central Asia's critical minerals sector, analyzes the strategic motivations behind their participation in resource competition, and assesses future trends in the evolving geopolitical landscape.