Examining China’s Asia-Oriented Policy and Its Impact on the Regional Convergence Process in South Asia
Keywords:
China, Asia-oriented policy, regional convergence, South Asia, India, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)Abstract
South Asia, as one of the world’s key geopolitical regions, has witnessed significant developments in its economic and political relations in recent decades. Within this context, China’s Asia-oriented policy, as a central component of Beijing’s foreign policy, has played a decisive role in shaping the structure of regional cooperation and competition. The present study aims to examine the impact of China’s Asia-oriented policy on the process of convergence in South Asia. The research method is descriptive–analytical and based on library and documentary sources. The theoretical framework of the study is grounded in institutional neoliberalism, neofunctionalism, and dependency theories in order to analyze the economic, political, and security dimensions of this policy. The findings indicate that China’s Asia-oriented policy—through initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)—has resulted in the expansion of economic linkages and the increase of interdependence at the regional level. However, geopolitical rivalry between China and India, concerns over Beijing’s economic dominance, and the emergence of heavy debt burdens in smaller states have contributed to heightened distrust and political–security divergence. The overall conclusion of the study is that China’s Asia-oriented policy has a dual effect on convergence in South Asia: facilitating convergence in the economic dimension while hindering it in the political and security dimensions. Ultimately, genuine regional convergence in South Asia requires strategic balance between China and India as well as the strengthening of regional institutions independent from the influence of major powers.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Mohammadwasil Sharafat (Author); Jalil Rahimi Jahan Abadi; Reza Jalali, Alireza Soltani (Author)
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