This video showcases highlights questions and answers from our event "Corridors of Power: How China Creates Ties to Exert Influence Along the Silk Road (Central Asia)". The event followed the release of our report, Corridors of Power.

‍China has long viewed South and Central Asian countries as a strategic priority, where building relationships and winning goodwill are vital to securing its economic, geopolitical, and security interests. The event features a presentation and panel discussion related to an extensive new study on Chinese public diplomacy efforts in the region--from financing and education to culture and social media. Participants will get an in-depth look at how Beijing has used a broad and diverse toolkit to cultivate economic and soft power influence in South and Central Asia over the last two decades. The event aims to spark a discussion of what this means moving forward for countries in the region and rival powers such as India, Russia, and the United States.

The OSCE Academy and AidData, a research lab at William & Mary (a US-based university), invites researchers, policymakers, practitioners, journalists, and all interested parties to attend the launch event and panel discussion "Corridors of Power: How China Creates Economic, Social, and Network Ties to Exert Influence in South and Central Asia" on December 14th, 2021. The event offers both in-person (Bishkek) and online participation options for those who RSVP in advance.

Speakers:

Dr. Alexander Wolters (in person), Director, OSCE Academy in Bishkek

Prof. Indra Overland (in person), Head of Center for Energy Research, NUPI

Samantha Custer (online), Director of Policy Analysis, AidData, College of William & Mary, United States

Justin Schon (online), Senior Research Analyst, AidData, William & Mary, United States

Ana Horigoshi (online), Senior Research Analyst, AidData, William & Mary, United States

Divya Mathew (online), Policy Specialist, AidData, William & Mary, United States

Niva Yau (in person), Senior Researcher, OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Temur Umarov (in person), Research Consultant, Carnegie Moscow Center, Russia

Anton Bugayenko (in person), Head of Asian Studies Program, Eurasian Association for International Studies, former Head Expert of Chinese and Asian studies at Institute of World Economics and Politics (IWEP), Kazakhstan

Raffaello Pantucci (online), Senior Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore, Senior Associate Fellow, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), United Kingdom