Central Asian countries at the crossroads of major economic interests

In the current global environment shaped by the international economic crisis consequences and by the tensions related to new political and economic strategies of Russian Federation, USA, Japan and China, the countries from Central Asia are at this Great Economic Powers center of attention. Being landlocked, rich in energy resources, but lacking infrastructure, these countries are open to international initiatives, but a bit reluctant towards any project that could endanger their newly gained independence. Analysing the literature in the field, statistical data and the national strategies of the countries involved, our paper proposes to assess the various interests of Russian Federation, China and USA towards the Central Asian countries, focusing on multilateral trade, memberships to international organizations and border issues. In this regard, our analysis focuses on the economic impact of three main economic integration projects focusing on the Central Asian Countries, namely: the Silk Road Economic Belt (China), the New Silk Road Strategy (USA) and Eurasian Union (Russian Federation) and will try to identify the success rate of each project on the basis of scoring method.