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This report is organized and compiled by Institute of Russian，Eastern Europe and Central Asia Studies（IREECAS），Chinese Academy of Social Sciences（CASS）. The authors are experts and scholars from China’s Central Asia Research Institute. The opinions and theories in the book are highly authoritative and reliable. It is an important reference for readers to understand and study the national situation and international relations in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. This report consists of six parts：general report，sub report，special topic，Central Asia and the world，China and Central Asia，and country studies.

The theme of this year’s report is “Central Asia under the centennial changes and COVID-19 epidemic”. The specific content reflects the following characteristics. First，it has distinctive characteristics of the times. Due to the profound adjustment of the international pattern，many new changes have taken place in the Central Asian region and countries：the new situation of the transfer of domestic political rights and the new problems in the transition of political power；the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 and the popularization of the fourth industrial revolution forced Central Asian countries to reform and develop；big countries have launched their own strategies for Central Asia and continuously invested strategic resources in the region. Second，enrich basic research. This report focuses on using of relatively mature theoretical tools，on the basis of the integration of political science，economics，sociology and other scientific research methods，to achieve interdisciplinary and cross-field research as far as possible，focusing on the construction of China’s Central Asian disciplinary system，academic system and discourse system，serving the construction of Chinese school. Third，highlight the application research. Central Asia is adjacent to China. In 2020，there were frequent hot spots in Central Asia. In view of some hot issues，this report adheres to the problem orientation and focuses on the main direction. Some soliciting experts put forward some suggestions that cause in-depth thinking.

The Central Asian countries have experienced a tumultuous year in 2020. The political situation in Central Asian countries continues to heat up. Most countries have held presidential and parliamentary elections，and individual countries are once again in political turmoil. Since the COVID-19 outbreak，Central Asian countries have adopted closed measures. In particular，the COVID-19 in Russia has been deteriorating，resulting in a sharp decline in the economies of Central Asian countries，and the problems of currency devaluation，inflation and rising unemployment rate are becoming more serious. Central Asian countries have introduced policies to promote economy and protect people’s livelihood. Judging from the annual economic indicators，the economic development of some countries is better than expected，which is mainly due to the timely introduction of anti-crisis measures and the adjustment of economic development priorities. Although there are no major violent terrorist incidents in Central Asian countries，the security problems such as the infiltration of extreme ideas，organized criminal activities and drug smuggling have not been effectively curbed. At the same time，a large number of Central Asian workers working in Russia returned home，which brought some social problems. Coupled with the stimulation of the epidemic situation，the pressure of social security increased. In 2020，the Central Asian countries will continue their previous foreign policies and actively develop their diplomatic relations with major powers，which is still the primary development direction of all countries. They should not only focus on the issues，but also seek diversified balance.

Looking forward to 2021，Central Asian countries will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their independence. While summing up the 30-year development process，the Central Asian countries will continue to promote political reform. First of all，they will improve the legal basis to create a good environment for realizing the national development strategy；steadily implement the national economic development strategy，comprehensively resume work and production as soon as possible，and implement the economic development goals；and continue to crack down on terrorism，extremism，drug smuggling，and organized cross-border crime to safeguard the overall stability of the country. To continued the balanced pragmatic diplomacy of major powers and actively carry out cooperation among regional countries. On the whole，the development of Central Asian countries in various fields shows a positive trend.