China's Western Horizon: Beijing and the New Geopolitics of Eurasia

A crucial assessment of how global and regional politics converge in the swath of Eurasia that includes South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Under the ambitious leadership of President Xi Jinping, China is transforming its wealth and economic power into tools of global political influence. But China's foreign policy initiatives, even "Belt and Road," will be shaped and redefined as they confront the ground realities of local and regional politics outside China. In China's Western Horizon, Daniel S. Markey previews how China's efforts are likely to play out along its "western horizon:" across the swath of Eurasia that includes South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Drawing from extensive interviews, travels, and historical research, Markey describes how perceptions of China vary widely within states such as Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Iran. On balance, Markey anticipates that China's deepening involvement will play to the advantage of regional strongmen and exacerbate the political tensions within and among Eurasian states. To make the most of America's limited influence along China's western horizon (and elsewhere), he argues that US policymakers should pursue a selective and localized strategy to serve America's specific aims in Eurasia and to better compete with China over the long run.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Map: China's Western Horizon 1. China and the New Geopolitics of Eurasia 2. Beijing's Global Aspirations 3. South Asian Conflicts 4. Central Asian Insecurities 5. Middle Eastern Entanglements 6. US-China Competition in Eurasia Notes Index

About the Author :
Daniel S. Markey is a senior research professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and the academic director of the SAIS Global Policy Program. From 2007-2015, he was senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. While there, he wrote a book on the future of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, No Exit from Pakistan. From 2003 to 2007, Dr. Markey held the South Asia portfolio on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State.

Review :
Markey's brilliant book is the go to policy guide for the steps the U.S. must avoid to manage its strategic competition with China. Deeply informed. ... a must read for foreign service personnel and scholars working on international relations from the US. [This book] makes important contributions to our understanding of the processes and outcomes of China's unprecedented and growing involvement in countries far beyond its western borders.... Markey's nuanced discussion of the soft competition between Beijing and Moscow is fascinating and on point.... China's Western Horizon is a tour d'horizon and should be required reading for anyone grappling with the enormity of America's China challenge—whether they sit in Carlisle Barracks, Camp Smith, MacDill Air Force Base, the Pentagon, or elsewhere. Markey's impressive and well-researched book is a must-read for anyone trying to decipher China's uneasy path as it moves beyond its region into the contested waters of the Middle East and South Asia... As such, this book is a welcome addition to the emerging literature on China's foreign policy under Xi Jinping. Daniel Markey's remarkable and timely new book, China's Western Horizon: Beijing and the New Geopolitics of Eurasia,...is significant for the agency it recognizes in local actors shaping BRI's scope, for the focus it brings to Beijing's continental aims, and for the common tensions it draws together across a broad region. With eloquence, sagacity and rigor, Markey describes the interactive effects that China's growing presence in South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East has on local realities. Beijing's active deployment of diplomatic, economic, and security instruments is already giving shape to a new regional landscape in which the US will have to adapt, and perhaps rethink, its role. A far-reaching and important primer that is filled with insights about the world of today and tomorrow, Markey's fine book is essential reading for anyone interested in international affairs. The Chinese leadership nurtures great ambitions on its Western periphery, well beyond its traditional East and South-Asian horizons. But, local countries have their own strategic agendas, their own political and socio-economic conditions, and their own vision for their present and future selves. With eloquence, sagacity and rigor, Markey describes the interactive effects that China's growing presence in South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East has on local realities. Beijing's active deployment of diplomatic, economic, and security instruments is already giving shape to a new regional landscape in which the US will have to adapt, and perhaps rethink, its role. This is a first-rate guide to the deepening post-Cold War profile of China on the Eurasian continent. Markey shows the strengths and weaknesses of China's Belt and Road Initiative, especially along the strategic access routes from Beijing to the Persian Gulf. Documenting China's quiet yet steadily rising Eurasian presence and its global implications, Markey highlights the region's historic transformation. Amidst a wave of books about China's Belt and Road that emphasize Beijing's global vision for a new international order, China's Western Horizon skillfully reveals how local actors across Eurasia have seized upon and manipulated Chinese investments and strategic engagement to advance their own domestic and regional agendas. Markey's detailed and penetrating research provides important cautionary evidence that BRI partners may 'pull' China into political entanglements with important unintended and even counterproductive consequences for Beijing Markey's important and insightful new book makes a valuable contribution to the literature on China's expanding global presence. Casting his eye across a vast swath of continental Eurasia, Markey analyzes both the forces driving Chinese policy and the factors shaping the responses of the poorer and weaker nations in its path. Markey's research is broad as well as deep, his assessments are balanced and measured, and his conclusions will inform the thinking of scholars and policymakers alike. Markey's book is an original and important contribution… and a call to action. A measured, thoughtful analysis of the nature and limitations of China's influence in Eurasia. A fascinating and in depth study of China's historical and current relationship with South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East… an outstanding book.