DR Lorena Lombardozzi ll27@soas.ac.uk
Snr Lecturer in Political Economy of Dev
Structural Transformation Through a Multi-vector Geo-economic Governance? BRI and Upgrading of the Uzbek Gas Industry
Lombardozzi, Lorena
Authors
Abstract
Gas is a strategic source of energy and Uzbekistan ranks 11th in the world for mining and 14th for reserves. The article investigates whether and how the BRI and Chinese capital have contributed to Uzbek structural transformation in the gas industry. It argues that although the Chinese BRI seems to adopt an extractive approach to acquire natural resources, its interventions are also an opportunity for multi-directional forms of upgrading in the gas sector, both directly and indirectly. Directly, first the Chinese involvement as a consumer has reconfigured geo-economic power relations around gas. Secondly, there is an unprecedented support by China to national infrastructure development, both as a lender and a producer. Thirdly, China is the main source of machineries to enable energy transmission. Despite these factors, BRI and the Chinese presence are contributing only marginally to upgrading. A coordinated industrial strategy coming from the Uzbek state remains a necessary condition for structural transformation.
Citation
Lombardozzi, L. (2024). Structural Transformation Through a Multi-vector Geo-economic Governance? BRI and Upgrading of the Uzbek Gas Industry. The European Journal of Development Research, 36, 696-717. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-024-00639-8
| Journal Article Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Acceptance Date | Mar 26, 2024 |
| Online Publication Date | Jun 11, 2024 |
| Publication Date | Jun 11, 2024 |
| Deposit Date | Sep 27, 2024 |
| Publicly Available Date | Sep 27, 2024 |
| Journal | The European Journal of Development Research |
| Print ISSN | 0957-8811 |
| Electronic ISSN | 1743-9728 |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
| Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
| Volume | 36 |
| Pages | 696-717 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-024-00639-8 |
| Keywords | Energy, BRI, Structural transformation, Upgrading, Gas, Uzbekistan, Infrastructure |
| Publisher URL | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41287-024-00639-8 |
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Licence
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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