China’s influence rocks Central Asia

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan: At a bazaar in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe, once a far-flung outpost of the Soviet Union, cheap goods from neighboring China are helping offset the pain caused by Russia’s economic meltdown.

As low world prices for Russian energy exports and Western sanctions over Ukraine stir economic trouble in Russia, Tajikistan has seen its national somoni currency weaken and thousands of migrants drift back home to a mostly jobless environment.