Kyrgyzstan arrests Chinese mining CEO for environmental damage amid rising anti-China sentiment in Central Asia.
BISHKEK: Kyrgyz authorities have arrested the Chinese CEO of a gold mining firm accused of causing large-scale environmental damage.
The Kemin Resource Group chief executive was detained last Thursday over allegations his mine damaged thousands of square metres of land and provided false information to authorities.
Kyrgyzstan’s security service stated the mine’s activities “caused particularly large-scale damage”.
Local residents had complained that exploration work contaminated water supplies, threatened tourism and risked accelerating glacier melting.
The arrest comes amid growing public scrutiny over Beijing’s influence in the Central Asian country.
Less than two weeks earlier, a brawl between Chinese and Kyrgyz construction workers in northern Kyrgyzstan fueled anti-Chinese sentiment on social media.
China has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Kyrgyzstan in recent years, financing major infrastructure projects and expanding mining activities to secure critical minerals.
While both governments describe the partnership as beneficial, some locals complain Chinese workers and companies have driven up prices and pollution.
Beijing has not yet commented on the arrest.
Central Asia’s five republics, rich in natural resources, have attracted interest from China, the European Union and the United States since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
