Last week, the biggest public rally to date against China’s growing influence in Central Asia took place in Kyrgyzstan’s capital. On Thursday, January 17, police detained more than a dozen people assembled in Bishkek’s central Ala-Too Square, demanding a curb on work permits for Chinese nationals as well as other measures to reduce the Chinese presence in the country. Similar protests took place on January 7and on December 20, 2018, when a crowd of about 150 people gathered near the Chinese Embassy.

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