With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, independent states such as Kazakhstan sprang up along China’s western frontier. Suddenly, Beijing was forced to confront internal challenges to its authority at its border as well as international competition for energy and influence in Central Asia. The New Silk Road Diplomacy traces how China constructed a gradualist approach to Central Asia that promoted multilateral diplomacy. Although China’s priority was to ensure stability in its own Muslim-majority domain, it also worked with Russia and the Central Asian republics to increase confidence and security in the border areas and facilitate commerce. Regional diplomacy has, however, brought China increasingly into competition with the United States, which views Central Asia as vital to its strategic interests. This multifaceted book offers a fresh perspective on the foreign policy of modern China. | The New Silk Road Diplomacy by Hasan H. Karrar, Paperback | Indigo Chapters