China’s Eurasian Dilemmas : Roads and Risks for a Sustainable Global Power

"Providing a timely analysis of China's engagement with Eurasia, R. James Ferguson focuses on the challenges obstructing China's path to becoming a sustainable global power. Engagement across Eurasia presents China, its leaders and policymakers with intensified contact with regional and national conflicts, posing environmental, developmental and strategic dilemmas. Including an up-to-date analysis of wider Central Asian and transnational interactions between China and the EU, Eastern Europe and Russia, Ferguson critically evaluates the present and prospective implications of Chinese initiatives in the region. Particular emphasis is paid to China's decision to create the Belt and Road Initiative and establish the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Divergent perspectives on multilateral international systems across Eurasia are also discussed, focusing on the contrast between Chinese and Russian approaches. Ferguson also explores the complexity of China-Russia relations with the ongoing formation of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping's legacies, linking their Eurasian and global agendas. Academics researching Eurasian politics and international relations - specifically Sino-Russian relations - will find this book an excellent addition to the literature, advancing their understanding of China's role in global politics."--Résumé de l'éditeur Providing a timely analysis of China's engagement with Eurasia, R. James Ferguson focuses on the challenges obstructing China's path to becoming a sustainable global power. Engagement across Eurasia presents China, its leaders and policymakers with intensified contact with regional and national conflicts, posing environmental, developmental and strategic dilemmas. Including an up-to-date analysis of wider Central Asian and transnational interactions between China and the EU, Eastern Europe and Russia, Ferguson critically evaluates the present and prospective implications of Chinese initiatives in the region. Particular emphasis is paid to China's decision to create the Belt and Road Initiative and establish the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Divergent perspectives on multilateral international systems across Eurasia are also discussed, focusing on the contrast between Chinese and Russian approaches. Ferguson also explores the complexity of China-Russia relations with the ongoing formation of Vladimir Putins and Xi Jinping's legacies, linking their Eurasian and global agendas. Academics researching Eurasian politics and international relations - specifically Sino-Russian relations - will find this book an excellent addition to the literature, advancing their understanding of China's role in global politics Front Matter 1 Copyright 4 Contents 5 About the author 6 Acknowledgements 7 Acronyms and abbreviations 8 Preface: China, Eurasia and global order 12 1. China’s Eurasian footprint 15 2. Dangerous frontiers: beyond the CSTO and SCO 40 3. Great power miscalculations in wider Central Asia 74 4. China and Russia: divergent visions of multipolarity 103 5. The Putin timeframe: the limits of geopolitics 123 6. Linking the Silk Roads: the Belt and Road Initiative as the driver of Eurasian integration 157 7. China and the EU: the hidden balancer 194 8. The Eurasian end-game: from regional roles to sustainable global power 227 9. Conclusion: dystopic China or balanced order-building? 245 Bibliography 252 Index 343