The role of the China-Pakistan economic corridor from perspective of China's new position in the international system

پژوهش ‎های جغرافیای سیاسی

Article 3, Volume 4, Issue 4 - Serial Number 16, February 2021, Pages 39-59   

Document Type: Original Article

DOI: 10.22067/pg.v4i4.86693

Authors

Mostafa ghaderi hajat^{* 1}; Mohammad Javad Ghahramani²; Yazdani Khorasgani Ebrahim³

¹Assistant professor in political geography, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

²Graduated from International Relations, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

³MA, International Relations, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The rise of China as a major power in the international system has led it to act relatively differently in its foreign policy than in the past. China's most important behavior can be expressed in the form of the Belt and Road initiative.  This initiative helped China to avoid Slowly avoid facing the United States in East Asia and also boosted Beijing's growth. The Belt and Road initiative includes a number of projects, mainly leading to a greater focus of Beijing on the country's western geographical areas. Pakistan, located on the shores of the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, has a critical role in China's new foreign policies due to its geographical location. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, launched in 2015, clearly demonstrates the importance and position of Pakistan and the growing relationship between the two countries. This article seeks to examine the role of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor from the perspective of China's new position in the international system through analytical-explanatory methods and relying on library resources. The results show that the most important benefits of the corridor for China, which can advance China's foreign policy in the current context of the international system, can be expressed in terms of the role of the economic corridor as a clear symbol of cross-border presence. China stressed the need to play the role of a major world power, gain economic benefits and strengthen China's sphere of influence from geo-economics to geostrategic, help alleviate China's security concerns, and ultimately advance China's new economic model.

Keywords

China; Pakistan; economic corridor; great power; foreign policy

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