For source-material in this article, go to www.rferl.org and search by date in the archives section. Additionally, reference the February 2003 edition of The Economist.

According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, specifically articles printed on 9/13/02, 10/11/02, 10/18/02, 10/23/02, 12/13/02, and 2/14/03 in the Central Asian section, China and Central Asia are warming up to each other quite nicely.

The friendliness between Beijing, Almaty, Dushanbe, Bishkek, and Tashkent has been long lasting, but in the past two years, specific developments have made this relationship stonger.

Central Asia contains vast oil reserves that are only now being exploited to the benefit of Central Asian economies. China has proved very interested in the purchase of this oil. Indeed China has good reason to be so intrigued: Ford and other car manufacturers are setting up shop on the Chinese mainland. The economic integration of China and Central Asia (including the dispersal of a loan to Uzbekistan INTEREST FREE) is an extremely important development that deserves attention. In fact, it would not be suprising in the near future for an Eastern form of NAFTA to develop ratified by the big traders in the region. The Economist gives China a decade to unleash its mighty economy on the rest of the world, and Central Asia is likely to reap the benefits of this.

Military integration is another important feature of this Sino-Stan friendship. China has spent a goodly sum of manpower and money to help equipp, train, and generally tidy up the state of Central Asia's armed forces. This behavior is likely indicative of a regional hegemon.

For those of us in the West, we would be wise to turn our attention to the East. A new kid is on the "bloc," growing ever more ripe and willing to take on the role of Global Equalizer. The China-Central Asia alliance is about to emerge as America's sole economic competitor.......and they have oil--LOTS of it.

How will America react?