Love Thy Neighbor? Central Asia in China’s New-Era Foreign Policy (2012–2024)

Pengfei Hou

doi:10.52536/3006-807X.2025-2.005

Authors

Pengfei Hou Xinjiang University, China Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8899-8631

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52536/3006-807X.2025-2.005

Keywords:

BRI, Central Asia, China, foreign policy, neighborhood

Abstract

Central Asia is critical to China’s security and development. Although China repeatedly underlines the necessity and urgency of establishing a good neighborhood with Central Asian countries, it has not released any strategies and specific policies, at least not explicitly. This article examines Central Asia’s sui generis in China’s new-era neighborhood diplomacy from 2012 to 2024. It contends that China’s foreign policies have evolved so subtly that Central Asia has been prioritized comparatively. With the aim of building a good neighborly relationship in mind, China has stepped up its engagement in Central Asia under the aegis of the Belt and Road Initiative, culminating in the China-Central Asia Summit in 2023.

Author Biography

Pengfei Hou, Xinjiang University, China

Pengfei Hou is an associate Professor in the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Xinjiang University, China. His research focuses on China-CEE relations, European affairs, and energy politics, which have been published in Central Asian Survey, Asia Europe Journal, and Journal of Contemporary European Studies.

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