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Abstract

China’s relationship with Central Asia has undergone a significant transformation. It can be characterized by a transition from traditional security engagement and limited military collaboration to a broader strategy based on cultural diplomacy, economic integration, and structural influence. In the past, security concerns and geopolitical alignments shaped how countries interacted with each other. Now, China is focusing more on soft power tools like educational exchanges, Confucius Institutes, and media outreach, as well as big economic projects like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The study argues that these developments indicate not only an increase in soft power, but also a shift toward what can be termed “sticky power” in which cultural and educational engagements progressively integrate Central Asian states into Chinese-led economic, linguistic, and digital frameworks. Against this background, It presents the concept of a “classroom-to-cinema strategy,” emphasizing how Mandarin language institutions and academic exchanges serve as initial entry points, further strengthened by media flows, film collaborations, and cultural production.

By placing this change in the context of Central Asia’s changing security architecture, the study shows how China’s influence goes beyond traditional hard security models. China’s approach to regional security is different from Russia’s because it creates long-term dependencies, affects the preferences of elites, and limits policy autonomy. The paper uses qualitative analysis of cultural initiatives and institutional linkages in important Central Asian countries to show how diplomacy has changed into a hybrid model that includes culture, economy, and security. In conclusion, the study contributes to discussions about power transformation by conceptualizing China’s involvement in Central Asia as “sticky power,” wherein cultural and educational instruments create structural embeddedness, increase exit costs, and reshape security frameworks through socio-cultural and informational networks that limit regional strategic autonomy.