China’s Struggle for Influence in Central Asia

Founded in 2001 by China, Russia, and key Central Asian states, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) marks its 25th anniversary this year. With Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to attend the SCO Leaders' Summit in Kyrgyzstan later this month, the organization has become an increasingly important platform for advancing Beijing's vision of a multipolar international order as China's economic, political, and security influence across Central Asia continues to grow.

In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Bradley Jardine, co-author of the new book, Backlash: China’s Struggle for Influence in Central Asia. Henrietta and Bradley unpack China's goals for the upcoming SCO summit, as well as China's long history in Central Asia. They discuss Beijing's use of Silk Road narratives to frame its contemporary engagement with Central Asia, Chinese leaders' top priorities in the region - from border security, to energy resilience, to construction of an increasingly Sinocentric regional architecture - how Central Asian governments quietly manage tensions over repression in Xinjiang, and whether the "debt diplomacy" narrative holds up. They also explore the collision of Chinese and Russian interests in Central Asia, and how the SCO became a leading component of the new international order China is working to build.