China in Tajikistan: Perceptions of Government and the Public Toward China’s Presence in Tajikistan

Abstract

The objective of the thesis aimed to study the perception of government and public towards China’s presence in Tajikistan. With the help of the ‘bifocal lens’ paradigm as theoretical framework it revealed two side perceptions of government and public on China in Tajikistan. It revealed that the government favours China’s presence in Tajikistan most, because the government sees China as an opportunity, as a source of Investments, and China’s will to update the major infrastructure projects in the country in bilateral and multilateral cooperation under SCO and BRI. Public perception of China in Tajikistan varies among different social strata, ranging from positive to negative. In contrast to the official discourse ‘China opportunity’, the opposite discourse of ‘China threat’ is more popular among mass public. However, some group such as business people (who imports goods, or having joint venture with Chinese) also making benefits perceive China as an opportunity, while there is some concern among local producers. Farmers see Chinese presence in the land through two lens, however, they are more concerned about the future implications of Chinese farmers, if lands will remain fruitful.