Sinostan: China's Inadvertent Empire

This book offers a rare glimpse into China's expanding economic, cultural, and political power in the Eurasian heartland, where China's influence has been quietly expanding in a more pervasive way. It highlights how China's foreign policy initiative has expressed itself on the ground and what it means for those living both within and beyond the boundaries of its "inadvertent empire."

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 14 April 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

This book, based on over a decade of writing, research, and travel, offers a rare insight into China's expanding economic, cultural, and political power in the Eurasian heartland. China's rise is reshaping the world, and much attention has been given to its geo-economic vision and technology reshaping the planet. However, its influence has been quietly expanding beyond its western borders, particularly in Central Asia. It is in this region that we can find the first strand of Xi Jinping's grand Belt and Road Initiative, China's new Silk Road to the West.

To understand China's new foreign policy vision and its consequences, we must look to the Eurasian heartland. In Sinostan, two acclaimed foreign policy experts recount their travels across Central Asia to keep their finger on the pulse and tell the story of China's growing influence. They interview Chinese traders in latter-day Silk Road bazaars, climb remote mountain passes threatened by construction, commiserate with Afghan archaeologists charged with saving centuries-old Buddhist ruins before they are swept away by mining projects, meet with eager young Central Asians learning Mandarin, and sit with officials in all five Central Asian capitals, bearing witness to a region increasingly transformed by Beijing's presence.

Their stories and experiences illustrate how China's foreign policy initiative has expressed itself on the ground and what it means for those living within and beyond the boundaries of its inadvertent empire. The book provides a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of China's rise and its impact on the region and the world. It is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complex dynamics of global power and the future of international relations.

Weight: 542g
Dimension: 163 x 242 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198857969