On 12 May 2022, Niva Yau, Project Researcher at the OSCE Academy, provided testimony before the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission during a hearing on "China’s Activities and Influence in South and Central Asia”.
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission was created by the United States Congress in October 2000 with the legislative mandate to monitor, investigate, and submit to Congress an annual report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, and to provide recommendations, where appropriate, to Congress for legislative and administrative action.
Ms Yau presented views on the strategic importance of Central Asia to China, the ways that Chinese economic engagement in the region assisted its political goals, current state of Chinese investments, competition with Russia in the region, local perspectives given changes in the recent geopolitical landscape, and provided policy recommendations for the United States and its allies to support growth and sustainable development in Central Asia. Ms Yau recommended 1) support Central Asian integration, and integration to the global system, 2) work with Asian allies of the United States, such as Japan, South Korea and Thailand, 3) sustain access to local knowledge for refined communication strategies, and 4) avoid isolating Afghanistan.
A recording of the full hearing can be viewed on the Commission’s website: https://www.uscc.gov/hearings/chinas-activities-and-influence-south-and-central-asia
Written statement of the testimony can be read online: https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/Niva_Yau_Testimony.pdf