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.
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.
The marriage of material gifts to interpersonal elite social bonds is a distinctive feature of China’s approach to Central Asia—one that resonates with local traditions and practices. This characteristic contrasts starkly with the approach preferred by the transatlantic West, which has tended to anchor its engagement with Central Asia in political norms and principles.
Turkey has few explicitly pro-China voices. In response, the Chinese regime has opted for soft power strategies that leverage Turkish political players and seek a synergy with local media actors.
Investing in joint ventures has enabled Chinese cultural adaptation by emphasizing training programs in languages commonly spoken in West Africa, embracing local African management styles, and assimilating some local practices.
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