Players or Spectators? Central Asia’s Role in BRI

Abstract

The BRI is a signature project for President Xi and may be both a vehicle for Chinese values and the PRC’s alternative political model. It has reshaped China’s global ambition and will herald a new type of great power relations. This chapter will look at the dilemma facing Central Asian states to explore what strategies are available to maximise the benefits of the BRI. It will do this in the context of changing geopolitical and economic considerations. It will also seek to explain why projections about the success of the BRI would be more accurate if they disaggregated the idea of Central Asia.