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.

In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR Assistant Director for Technology and Geoeconomic Affairs Jonathon Marek sits down with two NBR Nonresident Fellows, Jaemin Baek and Kristin Vekasi, to examine the growing importance of critical minerals as pillars of economic security, industrial policy, and geopolitical competition and to explore how the United States, Japan, and South Korea are working to diversify supply chains and reduce dependence on China. Jaemin Baek is a Director with DGA Group, and he is also a Nonresident Fellow at NBR. Jonathon Marek is an Assistant Director for Technology and Geoeconomic Affairs at NBR. Kristin Vekasi is the Mansfield Chair of Japanese and Indo-Pacific Affairs at the University of Montana, and she is also a Nonresident Fellow at NBR.

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 July 16–29, 2026, China will host the APEC Digital Weeks in Chengdu, bringing together policymakers and technology leaders to discuss the future of the digital economy and artificial intelligence across the Asia-Pacific. With that as the backdrop, today’s Asia Insight features NBR Senior Director of Research and Programs Doug Strub sitting down with NBR Nonresident Fellows Nigel Cory and Emily de La Bruyère to revisit NBR’s China’s Digital Ambitions project and the March 2022 special report, China’s Digital Ambitions: A Global Strategy to Supplant the Liberal Order. Together, they look at how China’s digital strategy has evolved, what it means for technology governance in the region, and why these questions remain so important today. Nigel Cory is a Nonresident Fellow at NBR and is a Director with Crowell Global Advisors. Emily de La Bruyère is a Nonresident Fellow at NBR and is co-founder of Horizon Advisory. Doug Strub is Senior Director of Research and Programs at NBR.

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 fourth episode features Dr. Ann Marie Murphy of Seton Hall University sitting down with Dr. Nur Shahadah Jamil and Ms. Ariel Tan to discuss Malaysia’s emerging generation of political leaders and the factors influencing their foreign policy outlooks from Kuala Lumpur. To view the project webpage, visit https://www.nbr.org/program/next-generation-of-leaders-in-south-and-southeast-asia/. Dr. Nur Shahadah Jamil is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of China Studies at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her written commentary can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/the-future-of-malaysian-foreign-policy-in-an-era-of-u-s-china-competition/. Ms. Ariel Tan is a Senior Fellow and Coordinator of the Malaysia Programme at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Her written commentary can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/malaysias-foreign-policy-structural-stability-amid-geopolitical-shifts/.