“With eloquence, sagacity and rigor, Markey describes the interactive effects that China’s growing presence in South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East has on local realities. Beijing’s active deployment of diplomatic, economic, and security instruments is already giving shape to a new regional landscape in which the US will have to adapt, and perhaps rethink, its role.” — Nadège Rolland, author of China’s Eurasian Century

“A far-reaching and important primer that is filled with insights about the world of today and tomorrow, Markey’s fine book is essential reading for anyone interested in international affairs.” — Peter Frankopan, Professor of Global History, Worcester College, University of Oxford

“This is a first-rate guide to the deepening post-Cold War profile of China on the Eurasian continent. Markey shows the strengths and weaknesses of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, especially along the strategic access routes from Beijing to the Persian Gulf. Documenting China’s quiet yet steadily rising Eurasian presence and its global implications, Markey highlights the region’s historic transformation.” — Kent Calder, Vice Dean, and Director of the Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies

“Amidst a wave of books about China’s Belt and Road that emphasize Beijing’s global vision for a new international order, China’s Western Horizon skillfully reveals how local actors across Eurasia have seized upon and manipulated Chinese investments and strategic engagement to advance their own domestic and regional agendas. Markey’s detailed and penetrating research provides important cautionary evidence that BRI partners may ‘pull’ China into political entanglements with important unintended and even counterproductive consequences for Beijing” — Alexander Cooley, Claire Tow Professor of Political Science, Barnard College and Director, Harriman Institute, Columbia University

“Markey’s important and insightful new book makes a valuable contribution to the literature on China’s expanding global presence. Casting his eye across a vast swath of continental Eurasia, Markey analyzes both the forces driving Chinese policy and the factors shaping the responses of the poorer and weaker nations in its path. Markey’s research is broad as well as deep, his assessments are balanced and measured, and his conclusions will inform the thinking of scholars and policymakers alike.” — Aaron L. Friedberg, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University