China has offered support for the government of Uzbekistan. This is in contrast to the constant criticism, and cutbacks in aid, from the United States. China is a communist dictatorship, so their support of Uzbek dictator Islam Karimov makes sense. However, the best thing the Chinese can do for Karimov is to convince him to do something about the Uzbek economy. Karimov is very corrupt, and would rather screw up a large part of the economy, than pass up an opportunity to steal. Karimov has stopped new private development projects (because his cut was not large enough), and shut the borders to needed trade with his neighbors.
