“Critical minerals” are all the rage these days, and for good reason: these are the raw materials that go into making any technologically advanced product, from a smartphone to a fighter jet. And many of the world’s governments have just woken up to the fact that China dominates access to these minerals, at least in their processed and usable forms. That has the U.S., the EU, Japan, and many others looking for an alternative.

And Central Asia might just cash in.

As the geopolitical race to secure alternative sources for critical minerals heats up, interest in Central Asia’s mining sector has kicked into a new gear. The question now is whether the region’s five states – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – can actually benefit over the long term from a literal and figurative gold rush.

You’re watching The Diplomat Asia. Today, we’re exploring the influx of investment in Central Asia’s resource sector, how the region’s governments are looking to benefit, and whether both sides can actually achieve what they want: for the United States and others, untangling their reliance on China; for the Central Asian states, avoiding the infamous resource curse.