Abbos Bobokhonov, Head of the China Programme at the Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies, is currently serving as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of Georgia (USA). His interview with Miranda Wilson, a contributing editor of the U.S.-China Perception Monitor at the Carter Center, focuses on the strategic relationship between China and Central Asia, with an emphasis on China’s growing influence in the region through economic, political, and security cooperation.

 

In the second part of the interview, Mr Bobokhonov discusses China’s expanding influence in Central Asia, particularly through economic projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The expert emphasises China’s strategic use of “soft power” to improve its image in the region and create a counterbalance to Russian dominance. He also shares impressions from his recent visit to Xinjiang, where China is keen to demonstrate development and reduce negative perceptions amid concerns about the Uighur situation.

 

Read the interview on the U.S.-China Perception Monitor’s website