Book contents
- Gauging China’s Influence Abroad
- Gauging China’s Influence Abroad
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- 1 An Introduction to Gauging China’s Influence Abroad
- 2 The China Threat
- 3 The Limits of China’s Influence
- 4 The Dragon in Thailand and Cambodia
- 5 Tracing China’s Influence and Its Limits in the Philippines
- 6 China’s Influencing Maneuver in South Korea
- 7 Why Money Can’t Buy Everything
- 8 Tracing China’s Influence in South Asia
- 9 Australia and China
- 10 Structure, Geography, and Agency
- 11 Sino-Russian Cooperation and Competition in Central Asian Higher Educational Exchange
- 12 Assessing China’s Belt and Road Initiative
- 13 Conclusion
- Index
- References
12 - Assessing China’s Belt and Road Initiative
A Domestic Dynamic Approach to China’s Global Influence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 July 2026
By
Edited by
Book contents
- Gauging China’s Influence Abroad
- Gauging China’s Influence Abroad
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- 1 An Introduction to Gauging China’s Influence Abroad
- 2 The China Threat
- 3 The Limits of China’s Influence
- 4 The Dragon in Thailand and Cambodia
- 5 Tracing China’s Influence and Its Limits in the Philippines
- 6 China’s Influencing Maneuver in South Korea
- 7 Why Money Can’t Buy Everything
- 8 Tracing China’s Influence in South Asia
- 9 Australia and China
- 10 Structure, Geography, and Agency
- 11 Sino-Russian Cooperation and Competition in Central Asian Higher Educational Exchange
- 12 Assessing China’s Belt and Road Initiative
- 13 Conclusion
- Index
- References
Summary
Has the BRI boosted China’s power abroad, and if so, how? This chapter adopts a three-part conception of influence – resource mobilization, policy capacity, and control over outcomes – and answers these questions by tracing domestic coalitions that use the BRI as a platform for outward engagement, with varied priorities and power projections: BRI 1.0 converted industrial overcapacity into overseas projects; BRI 1.5 introduced bureaucratic coordination; BRI 2.0 tightened finance, diversified into health, green energy, and digital, and emphasized risk management. This adaptation has measurably improved policy coordination and stabilized exports amid Western decoupling. Yet limits persist. First, the initiative has absorbed, not accumulated, Chinese fiscal and industrial capacity. Second, control over outcomes remains constrained by volatile host country politics and growing external pushback. Power is inherently bilateral: The degree to which the BRI shapes realities abroad depends as much on recipients and rivals as on Beijing’s intent. The result is an influential – but not dominant – BRI that sustains China’s global presence without ensuring decisive sway across regions and times.
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- Gauging China's Influence AbroadTheory and Practice, pp. 323 - 351Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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