By creating a shorter and more efficient trade route between Asia and Europe, the Central Corridor directly supports Kazakhstan’s economic interests and strengthens the country’s strategic position on this new trade route. In addition, this initiative offers new opportunities for economic growth and development by strengthening Kazakhstan’s role in international trade.
Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy Studies (ANKASAM) presents an interview with Prof. Dr. Sang Chul Park from Korea Technical University to assess the effectiveness of the Middle Corridor.
1-How do you assess the statements of Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev regarding the effective completion of the Middle Corridor of the Belt and Road project?
Central Asian countries, especially Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, have benefited significantly from China’s Belt and Road Initiative compared to other participating countries. It is not therefore surprising that Kazakhstan would like to push forward the Belt and Road Initiative’s Central Corridor, starting from China, through Central Asian countries, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to reach Europe. This is because it is closely linked to Kazakhstan’s national interest in becoming a logistics hub.
Kazakhstan also wants to play a mediating role by importing goods from China or Europe and exporting them to Europe and to East and South Asian countries. The Central Corridor is a transportation and trade route linking Asia and Europe. It is an alternative to the traditional Northern Corridor and the Southern Corridor. Therefore, it will be much easier for Kazakhstan to play a mediating role as a logistics hub. At the same time, it would be the best scenario for Kazakhstan to become a core country in the region economically and politically after the completion of the Central Corridor of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
2-How are South Korea and Thailand able to manage their economic collaborations in a balanced way between the BRI and the IPEF, and what do you think could be the long-term benefits of these strategies?
Although South Korea and Thailand are participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, South Korea is more of a passive participant in the Belt and Road Initiative, while Thailand is an active player in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Economically, Thailand is one of the key ASEAN member nations for South Korea, along with Indonesia and Vietnam, for South Korea’s production bases and markets. At the same time, Thailand is a core country of the Greater Mekong River region and, together with Vietnam, derives significant economic benefits from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. This is because global companies have relocated out of China and into Thailand and Vietnam due to disruptions in global supply chains caused by both the Covid-19 pandemic and Sino-US strategic rivalry.
In addition, the two superpowers are competing with each other in the Asia Pacific region in all areas more than ever before. Some ASEAN countries, such as Thailand, may therefore have the leverage to maximize their national interests while casually dealing with them in the region. If Thailand’s strategy generates sustainable economic growth, this will certainly be positive for South Korea to develop long-term economic cooperation with Thailand.
3-How do you view the contribution of the BRI to the power of world civilizations and what do you think it can achieve in the next decade?
There are different views on the Belt and Road Initiative. The Beijing Government emphasizes close economic and political cooperation, especially with developing countries, to resolve excess production capacity, reduce environmental emissions through infrastructure construction, and secure market expansion in developed and developing countries. China aims to build infrastructures all over the world in line with its national interests. This includes structures such as ports, highways, airports for the logistics of goods and services. At the same time, Chinese banks offer investment loans to participating countries at higher interest rates than those offered by international financial institutions.
Additionally, the US has launched a similar aid package in the Asia-Pacific region in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Therefore, the strategic competition between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework will be particularly fierce in this region in the coming decade.
Prof. Dr. Sang-Chul Park
Prof. Dr.Sang-Chul Park received his PhD in political science in Germany in 1993 and in economics in Sweden in 1997. In his doctoral thesis, he studied Technopolises in Japan. He also passed the habilitation examination (professorship) in political science in Germany in 2002 and the associate professorship evaluation (Swedish habilitation) in economics in Sweden in 2004. He is currently a Professor at the Graduate School of Knowledge-Based Technology and Energy, Korea University of Technology. From 2007 to 2012, he was a Visiting Professor at the Center for Science-Based Entrepreneurship, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and from 2008 to 2009, he was a Visiting Professor at Seoul National University, South Korea. He was also a Special Associate Professor at Justus Liebig University in Germany from 2003-2009 and a Visiting Professor at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden from 2009-2013. He served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden from 2001 to 2003 and at Okayama University in Japan from 2003 to 2006. In September 2014, he was a Visiting Professor at Fudan University in China and in October 2014, he was a Visiting Researcher at the Asian Development Bank Institute in Japan. Since 2016, he has been a Visiting Professor at Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Poland.
