THE IMPORTANCE OF CENTRAL ASIA IN CHINA’S FOREIGN POLICY AND BEIJING’S SOFT POWER INSTRUMENTS

Abstract

Throughout history, Central Asia was seen as a vital region by the great powers that struggled for the influence in this region in the past. After the breakdown of the Soviet Union, new independent states have emerged in Central Asia. This article provides an analysis of China’s implementation of foreign policy towards Central Asian states through soft power. China recently implemented the idea of soft power as a crucial foreign policy instrument. The study focuses on the fact that soft diplomacy can be essential in forming an attractive image of China in the international arena. Furthermore, it argues that China’s ambition to become more authoritative in the region is associated with the activation of efforts in its soft power policy. Employment of soft power is entirely determined by China’s national interests. It is in China’s national interests to establish a secure and peaceful climate for its economic advance, to adjust its vast and growing energy needs, and to curtail the domination of other powerful actors. Thus, this article offers an analysis of China’s soft power and its application within the Central Asian region in pursuit of its foreign policy tasks. The paper aims to solve the following problem: What is China’s soft power and how does it use it in the Central Asian states? To address the problem, we compare Chinese soft power to the policy of other regional actors. The goal is to study China’s foreign policy in Central Asia, with the purpose of highlighting Chinese political strategy in the region. The article begins with the discussion of China’s foreign policy chief aims and objectives to understand the meaning of good neighborhood diplomacy, which forms the basis of China’s soft power diplomacy in Central Asia.