A reading of the European Strategy for Central Asia and equivalent US texts reveal the limited coordination of Western policies in the region. As the EU, the United States does not consider Eurasia as its main foreign policy focus and will continue to embed Central Asia within a more global agenda. However, in contrast to the European approach, the United States’ new emphasis on its strategic interests in the Asia-Pacific region and the maintenance of the focus on a ‘greater Middle-East’, as defined in the new US Defense Strategic Review confirms that the relationship to China and South Asia will be a key element in the American reading of Central Asia’s future. Beyond differences in the fields of trade orientation, power projection, and focus on hard or soft security; Europe and the United States share many values and seek a relatively similar future for the Central Asian region.