YCW BXL | China in Central Asia: key achievements and issues

How has China reshaped Central Asia’s political, economic, and security landscape over the past 30 years?

Join us for an insightful discussion with Niva Yau, a leading expert on China's evolving role in Central Asia. Drawing on her extensive research and experience, Yau will explore key milestones and strategic developments in China-Central Asia relations over the past three decades.

📅 Date: 27 November, 7-9pm

📍 Location: BeerMania

Central Asia has emerged as a strategic region in global geopolitics, and China's influence in the region has grown significantly in recent decades. China now plays a major role in Central Asia through economic initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), investments in infrastructure, trade, and energy projects, as well as its security collaborations through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). These efforts have transformed the region’s connectivity and economic landscape, enhancing China's geopolitical foothold.

Don't miss this opportunity to hear from a renowned scholar who has provided testimony to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission and contributed extensively to global conversations on China's rise in the Global South.

Niva Yau is a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub. Her research focuses on China in the Global South, particularly on China-Central Asia relations and China’s new overseas security management infrastructure and initiatives. Between 2018 and 2023, Yau was based at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where she worked on commissioned research on China’s foreign policy, trade, and security in its western neighborhood, covering Central Asia and Afghanistan. In May 2022, Yau testified in Washington, DC, for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC). Originally from Hong Kong, she holds a degree in political science from the University of Hong Kong and is currently based in Tokyo, Japan.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Beer Mania, Chau. de Wavre 174/176, Bruxelles, Belgium