A Review on the Position of South Caucasus in China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract

On the “Belt and Road Initiative (B&R)” (Chinese: 一带一路), which is recognized as a global infrastructure development strategy by the People’s Republic of China, for the first time in his speech in Kazakhstan on 7 September 2013, Chinese President, Xi Jinping, spoke about the ancient ‘silk road’ and mentioned the establishment of the ‘Silk Road Economy Belt’. As of June 23, 2021, China had signed 206 cooperation documents which covered communications infrastructure, interconnection, investment, trade, finance, technology, people’s livelihoods, and oceans with 140 countries and 32 international organizations to join the “Belt and Road Initiative”. In 2020 alone, Chinese investors made direct investments of US$ 18.61 billion in 58 countries along the “Belt and Road Initiative” route. In China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, the South Caucasus region, known as the middle corridor, is of great significance in the process of transition to Europe. Although Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia officially supported this Chinese initiative, the conflict, instability and changing geopolitics in the South Caucasus region made investors uneasy. In this study, global factors, the future of the “Belt and Road Initiative” in the region and the position of the South Caucasus were studied. And, the advantages and disadvantages of the initiative are evaluated.