Over the past two decades, China has expanded its footprint across South Asia, presenting itself as a reliable provider of infrastructure and stability. The US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 further elevated expectations that Beijing would fill the emerging power vacuum.However, recent evidence, from stalled China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects to persistent security threats in Afghanistan, and even Beijing’s inability to facilitate meaningful progress in Taliban-Pakistan negotiations, suggests a widening gap between China’s ambitions and its on-the-ground performance.
This raises a critical question: How much do these mounting project disruptions erode Beijing’s claim to regional leadership and its prestige as Asia’s rising power?
