Asia Insight

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Ten: The Gravity of the Center - China’s Civilizational Aspirations in the Borderlands This final episode explores ways China uses cultural endeavors to pull its Borderlands neighbors into its orbit. Positioning China’s civilization as the core of the historical Silk Roads, promoting state-backed Nanhai Buddhism, or owning entire collections of historical records, require massive financial and human resources. These examples illustrate the crucial importance for Beijing of what otherwise appears as an amorphous, intangible domain. To what end? With Ondřej Klimeš (Czech Academy of Sciences), Amish Raj Mulmi (independent editor and writer), Ryoko Nakano (Kanazawa University), and Dylan Plung (University of Washington). Materials cited or referenced in the recording Alison Kaufman, “China’s Discourse of ‘Civilization’: Visions of Past, Present, and Future,” Open Forum, February 19, 2018, https://theasanforum.org/chinas-discourse-of-civilization-visions-of-past-present-and-future/. Edward Lemon and Bradley Jardine, “Digging up the Past to Justify the Present: China’s Archeological Diplomacy in Central Asia,” Borderlands, March 18, 2026, https://strategicspace.nbr.org/digging-up-the-past-to-justify-the-present-chinas-archaeological-diplomacy-in-central-asia/. Amish Raj Mulmi, All Roads Lead North: China, Nepal and the Contest for the Himalayas (London: Hurst, 2021). Glossary of Chinese terms used in the recording Wenming 文明civilization, civility Tifa 提法coded political formulations that signal ideological guidelines Neiwai tongchou 内外统筹internal-external coordination Additional Recommended Readings Ondřej Klimeš, “China’s Cultural Soft Power: The Central Concept in the Early Xi Jinping Years (2012-2017), Acta Universitatis Carolinae Philologica 4, 2017. Miguel Martin, “Global Religion and the United Front: The Case of Mongolia,” Jamestown China Brief 18(12), July 10, 2018, https://jamestown.org/global-religion-and-the-united-front-the-case-of-mongolia/. Ryoko Nakano, “A Geocultural Power Competition in UNESCO’s Silk Road Project: China’s Initiatives and the Responses from Japan and South Korea,” Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 52(2), August 2023. Dylan J. Plung, “Japan’s WWII Anniversary Strategy and China’s Memory Politics,” The Diplomat, June 28, 2025.

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries examining the future of foreign policy through the lens of emerging leadership in South and Southeast Asia. This fifth episode features Dr. Ann Marie Murphy of Seton Hall University sitting down with Dr. Gregory Raymond and Mr. Thapiporn Suporn to discuss Thailand’s emerging generation of political leaders and the factors influencing their foreign policy outlooks from Bangkok. To view the project webpage, visit https://www.nbr.org/program/next-generation-of-leaders-in-south-and-southeast-asia/. Dr. Gregory Raymond is an Associate Professor in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre in the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University. His written commentary can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/who-will-lead-in-thailands-entrenched-authoritarian-political-order/. Mr. Thapiporn Suporn is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at Khon Kaen University International College. His written commentary can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/navigating-perfect-storms-thailands-foreign-policy-outlook-under-a-new-generation-of-leadership/.

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Four: The Great Wall of Villages Since 2016, China has been building or refurbishing several hundreds of so-called “xiaokang (well-off) villages” along its Borderlands, complete with new infrastructure and an increased security presence. Some of these villages have been built on Bhutan’s sovereign territory. This fourth episode trails the strategic motives and the unfolding development of China’s border villages revitalization campaign. With contributions from Japneet Kaur (Center of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiv Nadar University, India), Professor James Leibold (La Trobe University, Australia) and Professor Robert Barnett (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and Lau China Institute, King’s College, United Kingdom). Materials cited or referenced in the recording “South China Sea: What’s China’s Plan for Its ‘Great Wall of Sand’?” BBC, July 14, 2020 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53344449. Muyi Xiao, Agnes Chang, “China’s Great Wall of Villages,” New York Times, August 8, 2024 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/08/10/world/asia/china-border-villages.html. Robert Barnett, “Forceful Diplomacy: China’s Cross-Border Villages in Bhutan,” Turquoise Roof Bulletin, October 15, 2024 https://turquoiseroof.org/forceful-diplomacy-china-cross-border-villages-in-bhutan/. Japneet Kaur, Devendra Kumar, Jabin T. Jacob, “Beyond the Military Prism: China’s Development Objectives in Xiaokang Villages in Tibet Autonomous Region,” Shiv Nadar University Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies Occasional Paper no.4 (February 2025) https://snu.edu.in/centres/centre-of-excellence-for-himalayan-studies/research/beyond-the-military-prism-chinas-development-objectives-in-xiaokang-villages-in-tibet-autonomous-region/. Sun Chunri [孙春日] “Population Loss in the Border Areas between China and North Korea, and Countermeasures：A Case Study of Yanbian Korean Ethnic Minority Autonomous Prefecture” [中朝边境地区人口流失及对策 – 以延边朝鲜族自治州为列] Journal of Northern Minzu University no.93 (2010). Yang Minghong [样明洪] and Wang Zhoubo [王周博] “Types, Causes and Governance of the ‘Hollowing Out’ of China’s Land Border Regions” [我国陆地边境地区 ‘空心化’ 的类型、成因与治理] Journal of Sichuan Normal University 47 no.6 (2020). “Xi Jinping Delivers an Important Speech at the Second Xinjiang Work Forum” [习近平在第二次中央新疆工作谈会上发表重要讲话] People’s Daily, May 30, 2014. Owen Lattimore, The Inner Asian Frontiers of China, 1940. Glossary of Chinese terms used in the recording 边境小康村 bianjing xiaokang cun: border areas moderately-prosperous (or well-off) villages 成都山地所 Chengdu shandi suo: Chengdu Mountain Institute (a research institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) 三农问题 sannong wenti: “Three rural problems”(nongmin 农民rural people, nongcun 农村rural areas, nongye 农业rural production) 兴边副民行动 xingbian fumin xingdong: “Border Revitalization and Prosperous Residents Program” (a State campaign aimed at boosting economic development along China’s borderlands launched in 1998) 治国必治边、治边先稳藏 zhiguo bi zhibian, zhibian xian wen zang: “To govern the country, one must govern the borders; to govern the borders, one must first stabilize Tibet” (Xi Jinping addressing a delegation of officials from the Tibetan Autonomous Region in 2013 https://cpc.people.com.cn/n/2013/0902/c64102-22771651.html) 空心化 kongxinhua: hollowing out 神圣国土守护者 shensheng guotu shouhuzhe: “Guardians of the sacred lands” 中华民族 zhonghua minzu: Chinese nation

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Three: The Opening-Up/Securitization Paradox Since the early 1990s, China’s borderlands have played a crucial role in the central government’s "opening-up" program. However, starting in the mid-2010s, at the same time as the Belt and Road Initiative was supposed to accelerate China’s opening-up to the rest of the world, Beijing also began to harden the security of its borders – a trend intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic. This third episode examines the tension between prioritizing openness and maintaining security. With contributions from Professor Victor Konrad (Carleton University, Canada), and Professor Alessandro Rippa (University of Oslo, Norway). Materials cited or referenced in the recording Zhuang Rui [庄芮], Song Huike [宋荟柯], Zhang Xiaojing [张晓静], "Strategic Considerations on China’s Border Opening-Up: Historical Logic and Forward Direction" [我国沿边开放战略思考：历史逻辑与推进方向] Chinese Economy and Trade, no.7 (2021). "More Indulgence, My Dear Friend? Why China Is Grudgingly Mending Ties with North Korea," The Economist, September 27, 2025. Glossary of Chinese terms used in the recording Xibu dakaifa 西部大开发 Great Development of the West / Great Western Development Recommended additional readings Zhiding Hu and Victor Konrad, "Repositioning Security Spaces of Exclusion, Exception, and Integration in China-Southeast Asia Borderlands," Regions & Cohesion 11, no. 2 (Summer 2021). Thomas Ptak, Jussi P. Laine, Zhiding Hu, Yuli Liu, Victor Konrad, Martin van der Velde, "Understanding Borders Through Dynamic Processes: Capturing Relational Motion from South-West China’s Radiation Centre," Territory, Politics, Governance 10, no.2 (2022). Alessandro Rippa, Borderland Infrastructures: Trade, Development, and Control in Western China (Amsterdam University Press, 2020). Alessandro Rippa, "Mapping the Margins of China’s Global Ambitions: Economic Corridors, Silk Roads, and the End of Proximity in the Borderlands," Eurasian Geography and Economics 61, no.1 (2020). Zhang Zheren [张哲人] Li Wei [李慰] "Comprehensively Optimizing the Regional Opening-Up" [全面优化区域开放布局] Hongqi no.16 (2023). Guo Yinhong [郭垠宏] Song Tao [宋涛] Sun Man [孙曼] "The Functional Evolution and Temporal Division of China’s Border Regions in the Context of the Security-Development-Opening Up Nexus" [安全、发展与开放关联下的中国边境地区功能演化及时段划分] Geographical Research 42, no.10 (October 2023).

From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Two: A Hundred Years of CCP Borderlands Policies The Chinese Communist Party’s borderlands policies fluctuated over time since its founding, alternating between periods of gradual integration and forced assimilation. Regardless of the methods used, the Party’s goal has remained the same: to meld all these regions and their people into a coherent national whole. This second episode examines how the notions of Borderlands, of nation-building, and of ethnic policies have been intimately intertwined throughout the hundred years of CCP existence. With contributions from Professor Benno Weiner (Carnegie Mellon University), Professor Robert Barnett (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and Lau China Institute, King’s College), and Professor James Leibold (La Trobe University). Materials cited or referenced in the recording Benno Weiner, The Chinese Revolution on the Tibetan Frontier (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2020) Andrew Martin Fisher, The Disempowered Development of Tibet in China: A Study in the Economics of Marginalization (Plymouth: Lexington Books, 2014) Fei Xiaotong [费孝通], The Chinese Nation’s Diversity to Unity Model [中华民族多元一体格局] (Beijing: Central University for Nationalities Press, 1989) Ernest Renan, “What is a Nation?” (speech delivered at the Sorbonne University, Paris, on March 11, 1882) Glossary of Chinese terms used in the recording Minzu 民族 nation, nationality(ies), ethnic group(s) Shaoshu minzu 少数民族 ethnic minorities Minzu tuanjie 民族团结 ethnic/national unity Minzu gongzuo 民族工作 ethnic policy work / nation building work Duoyuanyiti 多元一体 diversity within unity / plurality and unity / multiple origins, one body / from diversity towards unity Zhonghua minzu 中华民族 Chinese nation Zhulao 铸牢 to forge Zhuhun 铸魂 to cast souls Zhonghua minzu gongtongti yishi 中华民族共同体意识 collective consciousness of the Chinese nation / a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation Recommended additional readings Uradyn E. Bulag, “Good Han, Bad Han: The Moral Parameters of Ethnopolitics in China,” in Thomas Mullaney et.al. (Eds.) Critical Han Studies: The History, Representation, and Identity of China’s Majority (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012) Vanessa Frangville, “‘Unity Within Diversity’: The Chinese Communist Party’s Construction of the Chinese Nation,” in Jérôme Doyon et.al. (Eds.) The Chinese Communist Party: A 100-Year Trajectory (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 2024) James Leibold, “Toward A Second Generation of Ethnic Policies?” Jamestown China Brief 12(13) July 7, 2012 James Leibold, “Ethnic Policy in China: Is Reform Inevitable?” East-West Center Policy Studies 68, 2013 Benno Weiner, “‘This Absolutely Is Not a Hui Rebellion!’: The Ethnopolitics of Great Nationality Chauvinism in Early Maoist China,” Twentieth-Century China 48(3) 2023