The New Silk Road DiplomacyWith the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan sprang up as independent states along Chinas western frontier. Suddenly, Beijing was forced to deal with internal challenges to its authority at its border as well as international competition for energy and authority in Central Asia. The New Silk Road Diplomacy traces how China, faced with domestic and international challenges, constructed