Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
A dominant narrative, especially in Washington, is that China extends its global influence by exporting its developmental model and imposing it on other countries. But China also extends its influence by working through local actors and institutions while adapting and assimilating local and traditional forms, norms, and practices. With the generous support of the Ford Foundation, Carnegie has launched an innovative body of research on Chinese engagement in seven regions of the world—Africa, Central Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, the Pacific, South Asia, and Southeast Asia—exploring these adaptive Chinese strategies that work within local realities and are mostly ignored by Western policymakers. We also publish in local languages, from Arabic to Burmese to Urdu, to better reach local audiences.
China has been investing in solar and wind energy projects in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, increasingly adapting its approach to the needs and regulations in each country.
Kazakhstan has leveraged its natural uranium resources to hold the reins in its nuclear fuel–related dealings with China.
Saudi Arabia’s cooperation with China on technological and scientific innovation is on the rise—and it is Saudi priorities that are steering the relationship.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative has followed a unique, locally focused strategy in Türkiye to adapt to the Turkish economic and political environment.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative helped build an industrial complex in Indonesia—but contestations at the local and national levels compelled Chinese players to adapt to rapidly shifting Indonesian cross-currents.
Differing Kenyan and Ethiopian journalism norms have fundamentally shaped the strategies and local relationships of three Chinese firms contracted to build railways in Africa.
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