This chapter summarizes the conclusions of the case studies presented in this book. One major takeaway is that China’s influence abroad has been more limited than often presented in mass media and academic discourse. Beijing’s influence attempts have even backfired in some cases. While China’s influence has indeed expanded in some countries, the overall record is far more mixed than implied in the more hyperbolic rhetoric sometimes heard in public and policy discourse outside China. Other major conclusions are that the domestic politics of the target of influence plays an important role in determining the success of such attempts, and that the mere possession of resources is not enough to ensure their success. Small countries with limited resources can rebuff or restrain Beijing’s efforts to influence them. Therefore, agency and domestic conditions are both important determinants of how successful interstate influence attempts are. Finally, the studies in this volume suggest that coercive diplomacy, including economic sanctions, often fails to have the outcome desired by the initiating state, even when this coercion is directed against supposedly weaker counterparts.