%0 Journal Article %A LI Tongsheng %A LONG Dongping %T Geopolitical position of Central Asian countries and geopolitical strategy of China %D %R 10.11820/dlkxjz.2014.03.002 %J PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY %P 303-314 %V 33 %N 3 %X Beginning with the ancient Silk Road till the emergence of the concept "Silk Road Economic Belt" in recent years, Central Asia, with its unique geopolitical position, has always been of high strategic importance to China. As neighboring countries of China, Central Asian countries are key partners for China's development cooperation. They also have an important role to play in China's pursuit for improving its national security and energy security. From the perspective of human and economic geography, this paper systematically examines the geopolitical position of Central Asian countries and their geopolitical strategies toward China based on country characteristics and their geopolitical relationship and geopolitical cooperation strategy with China. (1) The homogeneity of the natural and human systems of Central Asia, the disparity of development levels within the region and dependency upon external forces of the national economies, and the long-term competition among great powers as well as the region's high importance to China's geopolitical interests, provide the entry point for the interest and study of geography on Central Asia geopolitical issues. (2) On the global scale, this paper analyzes the geopolitical relationship between Central Asian countries and Russia that represents the "Eurasian Area", United States that represents the "Marine Area", and China that represents the "East Asian Area" in Cohen's contemporary geopolitical regionalization model of the world; On the regional scale, this paper analyzes the geopolitical relationship between Central Asian and neighboring countries or regions using a combined concentric circles and fan-shaped distribution model. (3) China has well-developed geopolitical, economic and cultural interests in Central Asia, and Central Asian countries also have a huge geopolitical demand towards China. These constitute the basis of the cooperation between China and Central Asian countries. (4) China should gradually become an active participant of geopolitics and geopolitical culture in Central Asia and a leader of regional geopolitical economy in the future. %U https://www.progressingeography.com/EN/10.11820/dlkxjz.2014.03.002