Overview
- President Trump meets the leaders of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in Washington on Nov. 6 under the C5+1 format.
- Critical minerals drive the agenda as U.S. officials look to reduce reliance on supply chains where China controls a large share of production and the vast majority of processing.
- Recent commercial moves set the stage, including Boeing 787 sales and Wabtec locomotive contracts tied to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
- U.S.-linked mineral efforts include Traxys’s $1 billion agreement with Uzbekistan and U.S. government backing for a bid on Kazakhstan’s Upper Kairakty and North Katpar tungsten deposits, while Kazakh geologists reported a large new rare-earth find.
- Scaling remains constrained by landlocked geography, underbuilt transport and aging power grids, even as China’s Belt and Road posted record 2025 engagement with $25 billion directed to Central Asia in the first half of the year.