The Chinese Question in Central Asia

This book provides an analysis of the various factors which influence aspects of relations between China on one hand and the Central Asian States on the other. In clear prose and candid style, the two authors explains how China’s relationship with its neighbours has evolved both bilaterally and through multi-lateral arrangements established in recent decades. The book is divided into two parts each of five compact but informative chapters. Part I looks at how China and the Central Asian States have approached the issues of border relations, economic cooperation, investment and energy trade in a regional context. Part II brings in the bilateral dimension of those relations as each Central Asian state interfaces with China according to its own specific economic, socio-cultural and strategic perspective. The first point to recognize is that in the region, China’s power is a given reality that one needs to live with. The absence of any real competitors in the region allows Beijing to maintain the upper hand in Central Asia by use of an arsenal of ‘soft power’ which appears as ‘hard’ to the peoples and rulers in Central Asia due to the asymmetry of relations. For China, Central Asia is a modest market of 60 million people, which in 2009 had a combined GDP of around $160 billion, less than either Malaysia or Pakistan. (p. 3)