Russia and China have been implementing the projects of the Eurasian Economic Union and the New Silk Road since the beginning of this decade. Each of the two countries, however, is employing two different sets of practices to build its influence. Russia is interested in establishing its own exclusive sphere of influence in the post-Soviet space. Its goal is to consolidate its superpower status and ensure primacy in the region. China, in turn, is developing its economic influence, and does not limit itself to any specific territory. Beijing strives to increase its economic presence abroad and hide its economic expansion behind a smokescreen of multilateralism. Because of these differences between the two projects of expanding influence, Chinese–Russian rivalry in Central Asia seems rather unlikely.