Central Asian states are more comfortable dealing with China and Russia, which, unlike the EU, do not require democratisation and respect for human rights. However the cost for the Central Asian states of close cooperation with Russia and China includes a loss of sovereignty and economic independence, and higher social tensions. In this research paper of the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, Igor Savchenko, Andrii Osavoliuk and Kateryna Savchenko explain why the promotion of human rights in Central Asia is important to the EU in the context of containing an influx of migrants, preventing threats to security, and protecting investments. They suggest the Central Asian states should be required to meet their obligations in human rights and the rule of law as a precondition for economic cooperation with the EU, which offers socio-economic benefits which cannot be gained by cooperating with with China or Russia.
https://www.martenscentre.eu/sites/default/files/publication-files/ces_policy_brief_-_between_the_dragon_and_the_bear-web-final2.pdf

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