ABSTRACT
In Chapter 4, Raffaello Pantucci and Matthew Oresman describe China’s growing economic and security relations in Central Asia. They explain that China’s engagement with Central Asia is informed by a desire to develop and stabilize China’s western provinces, especially Xinjiang. Central Asia arguably provides the most important nodes in China’s broader OBOR vision. Central Asia, they argue, is a “testing ground” or predictor for how China’s broader global strategy of building mutual prosperity through loan financing will fare in other regions of the developing world. Pantucci and Oresman also examine the importance and limitations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in helping regional states build confidence and address terrorism. They suggest that the recent expansion of the SCO to include India and Pakistan may blur its focus.
