China in South Asia: In the Open and Behind the Scenes

Abstract

This chapter introduces the report, offering an analytical framework for this multi-year research project and summarising its key findings and trends. The first section reviews the expanding and multifaceted, yet understudied, presence of China in South Asia, which sets the context for our research agenda. The second section identifies a gap in the existing literature, which focuses on the economic and security dimensions of China’s engagements—areas that tend to be more tangible and thus more visible. We argue for a shift in perspective to study the many opaque ways by which China builds long-term influence behind the scenes, often escaping public scrutiny. The third section describes the research objectives of the second phase of the project, of which this report is an outcome. These objectives include emphasising evidence-based assessments of Chinese actions, both overt and covert, methodological approaches that privilege empirical granularity, and the quest to build regional capacity through collaborations and comparisons. The fourth section summarises this report’s 12 case studies, organised into five sections in order of increasing difficulty in discerning the long-term impact or implications of Chinese activity. Based on these case studies, the chapter’s final section highlights two defining features of China’s engagements in South Asia: their range and creativity, and the calibration that underlines them. We examine how China may adjust its behaviour in South Asia amidst the United States’ (US’) changing geopolitical posture and conclude by suggesting some avenues for future research.