Hard Power vs. Soft: China’s Evolving Role in Central Asia

program

Asia

The Asia Program in Washington studies disruptive security, governance, and technological risks that threaten peace, growth, and opportunity in the Asia-Pacific region, including a focus on China, Japan, and the Korean peninsula.

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project

China Local/Global

A dominant narrative, especially in Washington, is that China extends its global influence by exporting its developmental model and imposing it on other countries. But China also extends its influence by working through local actors and institutions while adapting and assimilating local and traditional forms, norms, and practices. With the generous support of the Ford Foundation, Carnegie has launched an innovative body of research on Chinese engagement in seven regions of the world—Africa, Central Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, the Pacific, South Asia, and Southeast Asia—exploring these adaptive Chinese strategies that work within local realities and are mostly ignored by Western policymakers. We also publish in local languages, from Arabic to Burmese to Urdu, to better reach local audiences.

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Is China imposing its will on the world, or is the reality more nuanced? Many in the West, particularly in Washington, argue that China exerts global influence by disregarding local differences and imposing its own rules. But this view overlooks how Chinese engagement can accommodate local actors, adapting to their traditions, mindsets, and political landscapes. Often, local players successfully influence Chinese interactions, shaping them to meet local expectations and demands. How do they achieve this? What strategies are at play?

China Local/Global, a multi-year Carnegie Asia program project, has been exploring these adaptive strategies, examining how Chinese actors respond to local partner demands across seven global regions. This crucial conversation focused on Central Asia—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—will explore how local societies and governments in these five nations have successfully navigated their relationships with China.

Please join the authors of several China Local/Global publications for a virtual discussion examining Central Asia’s strategic relations with China. Temur Umarov, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, will moderate a discussion featuring Berikbol Dukeyev, a postdoctoral scholar at Nazarbayev University, Odil Gafarov, Ph.D. candidate at Southern Illinois University, and Nargis Kassenova, senior fellow and director of the Program on Central Asia at Harvard University's Davis Center.

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

program

Asia

The Asia Program in Washington studies disruptive security, governance, and technological risks that threaten peace, growth, and opportunity in the Asia-Pacific region, including a focus on China, Japan, and the Korean peninsula.

Learn More

project

China Local/Global

A dominant narrative, especially in Washington, is that China extends its global influence by exporting its developmental model and imposing it on other countries. But China also extends its influence by working through local actors and institutions while adapting and assimilating local and traditional forms, norms, and practices. With the generous support of the Ford Foundation, Carnegie has launched an innovative body of research on Chinese engagement in seven regions of the world—Africa, Central Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, the Pacific, South Asia, and Southeast Asia—exploring these adaptive Chinese strategies that work within local realities and are mostly ignored by Western policymakers. We also publish in local languages, from Arabic to Burmese to Urdu, to better reach local audiences.

Learn More

Hard Power vs. Soft: China’s Evolving Role in Central Asia

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