The Making of Eurasia : Competition and Cooperation Between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Russia

## The making of Eurasia The Belt and Road Initiative and questions of regional order On peripherality and agency in Eurasia Outline of the book 2 Reviving the Silk Road: China's new approach to Central Asia From the ancient Silk Roads to 'One Belt, One Road' Old wine in new bottles? The conceptual consolidation of Silk Road narratives Reasons why China 'steps out' The 'Five Openings' , domestic economics and the role of Xinjiang Finance and 'monetary circulation' The BRI and globalization: China as a 'discursive power' Conclusion 3 Sino-Russian relations in Eurasia From unequal treaties to strategic triangulation China, Russia and multinational institutions in Eurasia The 'new Silk Road' and Chinese investments in Russia Competing public diplomacies of Eurasian integration Conclusion 4 The Linchpin of Eurasia: Kazakhstan between Russia's defensive regionalism and China's new Silk Roads Beyond EAEU membership: Regional alliance networks and neighbourhood diplomacy Conclusion Contents Contents vi 5 The New Silk Road heads north: Implications of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor for Mongolia's place within Eurasian power shifts Introduction Mongolia's quest for foreign policy options: Balancing between 'third' and its two direct neighbours Mongolia within the BRI and the Mongolian Development Plan Attempts to find partners across the globe: Mongolia's evolving 'Third Neighbour' Policy in a regional context Mongolian views on China's growing leverage Sino-Russian interaction in Mongolia Conclusion 6 Eurasia's 'Southern Corridor': Uzbekistan between Russia, China and West Asia Mirziyoyev's reform agenda and the BRI Uzbekistan as a hub between China and West Asia Russia's re-engagement with Uzbekistan Conclusion 7 Eurasia and world order The writing of this book would have been a more arduous and less enjoyable task, had it not been for the help of a number of people. I firstly want to thank the University of Salford's Directorate of Politics and Contemporary History, where I embarked on this research project. My travels to China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia would not have been possible without the financial support I received in the form of a Vice-Chancellor's Research Scholarship and impact case study funding. Special thanks go to Paul Broster and Stephen Ward for allocating time and resources which facilitated the writing process and to David Maher for the enjoyable office environment and his friendship. I am also grateful to Alaric Searle for helping to arrange my visit to China, and for putting me in touch with the Zhou Enlai School of Government at Nankai University. At the latter, I wish to thank Han Zhaoying for inviting and hosting me in the summer of 2018. During my subsequent field trip to Kazakhstan, my life was made easier thanks to the logistical help of Nursultan Maratov and Adilkhanov Yerzhan. Many thanks also go to Nurlan Igembaev for suggesting additional helpful contact points and to Anuar Cover 1 Contents 6 List of maps 8 Acknowledgements 9 Note on translation and transliteration 11 List of Acronyms 12 1 The making of Eurasia 18 The Belt and Road Initiative and questions of regional order 18 On peripherality and agency in Eurasia 20 Outline of the book 22 2 Reviving the Silk Road: China’s new approach to Central Asia 24 From the ancient Silk Roads to ‘One Belt, One Road’ 24 Old wine in new bottles? The conceptual consolidation of Silk Road narratives 29 Reasons why China ‘steps out’ 31 The ‘Five Openings’, domestic economics and the role of Xinjiang 31 Finance and ‘monetary circulation’ 33 The BRI and globalization: China as a ‘discursive power’ 37 Conclusion 39 3 Sino-Russian relations in Eurasia 42 From unequal treaties to strategic triangulation 43 China, Russia and multinational institutions in Eurasia 46 The ‘new Silk Road’ and Chinese investments in Russia 51 Competing public diplomacies of Eurasian integration 54 Conclusion 57 4 The Linchpin of Eurasia: Kazakhstan between Russia’s defensive regionalism and China’s new Silk Roads 60 Introduction 60 The new Silk Road enters Kazakhstan 62 Challenges for the reception of China’s BRI in Kazakhstan 65 Kazakhstan’s engagement with the SREB in light of Russian leverage within the EAEU 67 Beyond EAEU membership: Regional alliance networks and neighbourhood diplomacy 69 Conclusion 72 5 The New Silk Road heads north: Implications of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor for Mongolia’s place within Eurasian 76 Introduction 76 Mongolia’s quest for foreign policy options: Balancing between ‘third’ and its two direct neighbours 78 Mongolia within the BRI and the Mongolian Development Plan 79 Attempts to find partners across the globe: Mongolia’s evolving ‘Third Neighbour’ Policy in a regional context 83 Mongolian views on China’s growing leverage 86 Sino-Russian interaction in Mongolia 87 Conclusion 89 6 Eurasia’s ‘Southern Corridor’: Uzbekistan between Russia, China and West Asia 92 Introduction 92 Uzbekistan between pendulum diplomacy and regional integration initiatives 94 Mirziyoyev’s reform agenda and the BRI 96 Uzbekistan as a hub between China and West Asia 100 Russia’s re-engagement with Uzbekistan 102 Conclusion 105 7 Eurasia and world order 108 Introduction 108 De-Westernizing ‘globalization’ 110 The ‘Russia factor’ in China and the ‘China factor’ in Russia’s external relations with the West 111 China, Europe and Eurasian connectivity in an era of Sino-American rivalry 115 Conclusion 119 Epilogue 122 Eurasian grand schemes and regional agency 124 Notes 127 Bibliography 163 Index 177 The Making of Eurasia investigates the multi-layered spectrum of China and Russia's Eurasian policies towards each other, ranging from competition to cooperation, as well as the role of regional actors in between. The book examines the impact of and responses to the dynamic Sino-Russian interaction in the wake of China's Belt and Road initiative, focusing on the selected case studies of Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan, but also on inter-regional implications across the Eurasian space. With China's imprint on inter-regional politics and ambition to make a distinctive Chinese contribution to 'globalization' and Russia's vision of a 'Greater Eurasia' in which Moscow stakes out a place for itself as an indispensable power, other regional actors adopt policies that respond to and co-shape the resulting centrifugal forces. Meanwhile, power shifts are underway on a global plane, as the normative divide between Russia and the West has widened, and as the Sino-American rivalry is intensifying. The book therefore also sheds light on the effects of Eurasian power shifts on global governance in a context where global 'leadership' is contested, and in which the US and Europe are re-defining their relationship not only towards a self-confident China but also towards each other. As such, this study will provide valuable insight for students and scholars of Eurasian Asia Studies, Foreign Policy Analysis, and International Relations at large. -- Provided by publisher "The Making of Eurasia investigates the two chief competing order conceptions and economic initiatives in Central Asia - China's Belt and Road Initiative and Russia's Eurasian Economic Union. This book analyses the extent to which these opposing order conceptions contribute to friction over political domination of the region. China's 'One Belt, One Road' initiative launched in 2013 in order to expand infrastructure and trade links between Asia, Africa and Europe while also promoting the rise of Chinese influence in global affairs. In 2015 the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) was also established, bringing into question whether these two models for the region would be compatible. By focusing on three case studies - Kazakhstan, Iran and Mongolia - Pieper examines the extent and levels of cooperation and confrontation which take place as a result of these initiatives within a geopolitical context. The book also reflects on the wider international significance of these competing regional policies to global leadership debates, given the emergence of a new Eurasian trans-continental political space. This study will provide valuable insight for students and scholars of International Relations, Asia Studies and Security Studies."-- Provided by publisher