Abstract
Looking West: China and Central Asia is a US Congressional hearing done in March 2015. Experts on Central Asia were invited to solicit their opinion on the subject. They included: Dr Marlene Laruelle, Eliot School of International Affairs, Dr S. Frederick Starr, Chairman Centeral AsiaCaucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Programmeme Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University, Raffaello Pantucci, Director Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, Dr Alexander Cooley, Professor Political Science, Columbia University, Dr Sebastien Peyrouse, Research Professor of International Affairs George Washington University, Dr Erica Downs, Senior Analyst Eurasia Group, Dr Michael Clarke, Senior Research Fellow Griffith University, Dr Niklas Swanstrom, Director Institute of Security and Development Policy, Stockholm, Sweden and Andrew Small, Transatlantic Fellow German Marshall Fund of the United States. Dennis C. Shea and Katherine C. Tobin acted as chair and co-chair of the hearing commission respectively. The purpose of this report was to examine China’s engagement in Central Asia and its implications for US policy in the region. The report is divided into three parts. The part one looks into China’s Silk Road policy. The part two highlights trade, infrastructure, and natural resources in China’s Central Asian engagement, and the third deals with China’s security engagement in the region. It was pointed out to the Commission that China has been pursuing its interests in Central Asia for three reasons: (a) to promote the security and development of its restive Xinjiang Autonomous Region; (b) to gain access to Central Asian natural resources; and (c) to develop new market for exports.
Keyword(s)
China, Central Asia, US-China Economic, Security Review Commission, US Policy