Mining backlash: Kyrgyzstan detains China firm head; mining probe widens amid environmental damage claims

Kyrgyzstan has arrested the Chinese chief executive of a gold mining company accused of causing “large-scale” environmental damage, marking a sharp escalation in local scrutiny of Chinese investment in the Central Asian nation.The Chinese national, who heads Kemin Resource Group, was detained last Thursday for allegedly damaging thousands of square metres of land and providing false information to authorities, the State Committee for National Security said in a statement, AFP reported. It added that activities at the mine had caused “particularly large-scale damage”.Residents in the affected area had complained that exploration work contaminated water sources, threatened tourism activity and could accelerate the melting of surrounding glaciers, according to earlier reports in Kyrgyz media. Beijing has not commented on the arrest.The case comes amid heightened tensions around Chinese economic presence in Kyrgyzstan. Less than two weeks earlier, a brawl between Chinese and Kyrgyz construction workers in the country’s north had fuelled anti-China sentiment on local social media platforms.China has invested heavily across Kyrgyzstan in recent years, funding major infrastructure projects and expanding mining operations to secure critical minerals. While both countries maintain that the partnership is mutually beneficial, sections of the local population argue that Chinese companies have contributed to rising prices and environmental degradation.Resource-rich Central Asian republics have been actively courting global powers including China, the European Union and the United States since gaining independence after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.