TOURISM AS A TOOL OF SOFT POWER IN CHINA-UZBEKISTAN RELATIONS: STATE STRATEGY, REGIONAL CONTEXT, AND THE LIMITS OF ATTRACTION

This article asks whether tourism cooperation actually functions as soft power in China-Uzbekistan relations, rather than assuming that it does. Drawing on Joseph Nye's concept of soft power and on the emerging literature on tourism diplomacy, the study applies three criteria that distinguish soft power from economic statecraft: documented state intent, the autonomy of tourist flows, and experiential effects on audiences. Using qualitative document analysis, it examines the institutional architecture of bilateral tourism cooperation, including the 2024 elevation of the relationship to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era, the 2024-2026 bilateral tourism cooperation plan, the Xi'an and Astana summit commitments, and the mutual visa exemption agreement that entered into force in June 2025, together with official tourism statistics. The analysis finds a substantial and expanding state-led architecture, but tourist flows remain small relative to official ambitions, are largely facilitated by government measures, and occur in a regional context where public perceptions of China are documented as wary. The article concludes that tourism currently operates as a channel of soft power with strong inputs and unproven outputs, closer to economic statecraft than to demonstrated attraction, and that the decisive variable is the quality of the visitor experience that Uzbekistan delivers. Implications for Uzbek tourism policy and for future research on perception measurement are discussed.