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Paper abstract:

As China-led infrastructure connectivity entangles Beijing’s neighboring states with roads, ports, and railroads, the outbreak of COVID-19 exposed the sinister side of China’s grand flagship project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The more interconnected the world is, the higher the risks of contagion are. While the implications of the coronavirus are yet to be assessed, it is already apparent that the relations of China with its partners will require a major overhaul.

Multiple accounts of virus-related anti-Chinese manifestations around the world exposed increasingly complex relations of China with other states. While Beijing views itself as a benevolent actor with full responsibility for shaping the international environment and building ‘a community of common destiny’, in many instances there is resistance to Chinese outreach on both local and national levels. Recipient communities such as those in Central Asia worry about impacts of Chinese investments on existing governance problems, environmental risks, and debt traps. Even the prospects of sustainable and inclusive growth cannot mitigate some deeply rooted fears and sentiments.

In this regard, it becomes less surprising that Chinese initiatives in the region are clouded by rumors, speculative knowledge, and conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories are the discourses, which explain a significant event as secretly planned and executed by an agent or a group of agents. Moon landings, Illuminati, Bilderberg Group, and the New World Order are a small fraction of conspiracy theories that dominate public discourses around the globe. However, conspiracy theories shall not be regarded purely from an entertainment perspective, as these narratives often embody distorted realities of existing problems.

Conspiracy theories are not about truth or falsehood, but about their power to affect both political discourses and political practices. Accordingly, this work will examine the sources of anti-Chinese conspiracy theories in Central Asia and whether they are reproducing elitism, patriarchy, and patronage as modes of governance in the region. The article will also explore whether the outbreak of coronavirus had a toll on Chinese initiatives in Central Asia and the narratives of the Chinese dream of the common and harmonious future.