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Under the ambitious leadership of President Xi Jinping, China is zealously transforming its wealth and economic power into potent tools of global political influence. But China’s foreign policy initiatives, even the vaunted Belt and Road, will be shaped and redefined as they confront the ground realities of local and regional politics outside China.
In China’s Western Horizon, Daniel S. Markey — a scholar of international relations and former member of the US State Department’s policy planning staff previews how China’s efforts are likely to play out in its own “backyard” — the swath of Eurasia that includes South Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia.
Drawing from his extensive interviews, travels, and historical research, Markey describes how perceptions of China vary widely within states like Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Iran. The region’s powerful and privileged groups often expect to profit from their connections to China, while others fear commercial and political losses. Similarly, statesmen across Eurasia are scrambling to harness China’s energy purchases, arms sales, and infrastructure investments as a means to outdo their strategic competitors, like India and Saudi Arabia, while negotiating relations with Russia and America. On balance, Markey anticipates that China’s deepening involvement will play to the advantage of regional strongmen and exacerbate the political tensions within and among Eurasian states. To make the most of America’s limited influence in China’s backyard (and elsewhere), he argues that US policymakers should pursue a selective and localised strategy to serve America’s aims in Eurasia and to better compete with China over the long run.
Daniel S. Markey is Senior Research Professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and the academic director of the SAIS Global Policy Programme. From 2007-2015, he was senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. While there, he wrote the book — No Exit from Pakistan. From 2003 to 2007, Markey held the South Asia portfolio on the Secretary’s Policy Planning Staff at the US Department of State.
Jabin T. Jacob, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University
Nirupama Rao, former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to China and the US
Harsh V. Pant, Director of Studies and Head of Strategic Studies Programme, Observer Research Foundation
