China's transboundary river policies towards Kazakhstan: issue-linkages and incentives for cooperation

A significant aspect of China's power is its position as upstream riparian on many of Asia's international rivers. China participates in creating and building institutions with riparians of some of these rivers more than others. This article argues that China's relatively higher level of institutionalized cooperation with Kazakhstan on transboundary water issues is due to the interdependence between the two countries, which facilitates linkages between water issues and a cluster of political, economic, security and strategic issues. China is incentivized to cooperate and accommodates Kazakhstan's concerns over their shared waters because a reciprocal relationship exists between them.