Has the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched by China in 2013, changed the perception of China among local actors in Central Asia? There are numerous internal problems and contradictions among the Central Asian countries and the region remains one of the least integrated in the world. This...

This chapter analyses bilateral Chinese–Russian energy relations, pre and post Crimea. The signing of the Power of Siberia megaproject in May 2014, only two months after Russia's annexation of Crimea, created the impression that China bankrolled Russia out of the crisis. To assess the veracity...

Along with financing hard infrastructure projects, Beijing also promotes soft power projects in the form of peopleto-people initiatives. However, such projects are low priority within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Central Asia. The Confucius Institutes, which appear to be an important...

This data article summarizes the analysis of 261 Chinese projects in Central Asia. The findings indicate that trade promotion and industrial development are the sectors where there is most BRI-related activity in Central Asia. The total number of projects in these areas approximates the number...

China's investment in the industrial sectors of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has been on the rise since the 1990s. However, this data article shows the recent expansion of Chinese investment also in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Thus, China has expanded its engagement in the development of local...

The states of Central Asia are often described in regional terms. This description has become further accentuated by a set of regional developments presented as the way forward in order to stabilize and develop the area before and after the 2014 withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan. This...

In the contemporary policy debate on the EU's neighbourhood, grand designs are transforming into more pragmatic considerations. This book examines regional cooperation among the countries in Europe's northern neighbourhood, with an emphasis on the pitfalls and successes of engaging Russia....