Why ‘One Belt, One Road’ in Central Asia Will Test Chinese Diplomacy

Why ‘One Belt, One Road’ in Central Asia Will Test Chinese Diplomacy
China's president, Xi Jinping, reviews an honor guard during a welcome ceremony, Astana, Kazakhstan, May 7, 2015 (AP photo by Alexei Filippov).

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series about China’s One Belt, One Road infrastructure initiative, also known as the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

Traditionally, China has preferred to pursue bilateral deals when investing in Central Asia, but its ambitious plans for the One Belt, One Road initiative will require a more integrated approach. In an email interview, David Lewis, a Central Asia expert and senior lecturer at the University of Exeter, describes the political and other challenges China will need to grapple with to make this phase of the initiative a success.

WPR: How does Central Asia figure into China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, and what does that reflect about China’s recent sustained engagement with the region?

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review