China is emerging as a much stronger player in the Central Asian region, with the support of Russian resources. Central Asian states may exploit this Sino-Russian rapprochement in order to advance their own goals, receiving security and funding from Moscow and Beijing, while not being required to change political regimes.

Analyzing the recent travels of Chinese President Xi Jingping, Chen Xiangyang examines the “new normal” of periphery diplomacy in China’s foreign policy and explains how it will continue to strengthen relations with regional nations.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has organized a number of “anti-terrorist exercises” that do have an anti-terrorism purpose and aim to fight the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism by strengthening the militaries’ ability to coordinate counter-terrorism operations. Nonetheless, in addition to their declared goal of fighting regional terrorism, these drills aim to support the SCO agenda of negating U.S. global primacy, countering U.S. missile defense programs, and weakening U.S. security alliances.

The SCO should focus its efforts on intra-cooperation in security, politics and the economy. By doing so, the regional organization will enhance its ability to cope with regional challenges, and win respect from the rest of the world.