The Belt and Road Initiative, announced in Kazakhstan in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping,[1] includes different economic corridors The corridors in question pass through various countries and cities using many routes. In this context, it can be said that the corridors in question are the main branches of the Belt and Road Initiative and each corridor has a different importance according to the routes through which it passes.
In this context, it is useful to examine the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor (CMREC). So it can be said that this corridor has a very important and critical role. Because the corridor has been approved by three leading and critically important states of the region and passes through these three countries.[2]
It can be stated that the China-Russia-Mongolia Summit held in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan on 11 September 2014, laid the foundations of this corridor. At the relevant summit, Xi made various suggestions in the context of developing cooperation and providing mutual benefits. In this context, Xi proposed the construction of new corridors. Then, Xi’s offer was welcomed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj.[3]
In this context, it should be emphasized that China and Mongolia have a border longer than 4,700 kilometers and both countries are strategic partners.[4] At the same time, this corridor is the shortest route connecting China to Russia through Mongolia. The corridor was implemented with the “Agreement on the Establishment of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor” and this agreement was signed by the parties at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, in 2016. Basically, it is known that this initiative involves the renewal of existing lines. Besides, the corridor is expected to be completed within five years.[5]
CMREC is one of the most important parts of the Belt and Road Initiative. Because at the SCO Summit held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 15, 2022, the leaders of Mongolia, China and Russia exchanged views on the economic corridor to be implemented within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and extended the implementation plan of the economic corridor for five years.
The critical importance of the corridor is mainly due to the fact that it includes two main routes starting from the Beijing-TianjinHebei line in the north of China and extending from Dalian, Shenyang, Changchun, Harbi in the Russian city of Hohhot, from Manzhouli in China to the Chita region of Russia.[6]
Given the overall situation of the Belt and Road Initiative and the geopolitical, geoeconomic and geostrategic significance of the route, it can be predicted that the Chinese economy will develop even more rapidly and reach a higher level of prosperity. It can be said that the caliber of economic development that Beijing will have over the next five years will be high. As a matter of fact, China intends to achieve its goal of socialist modernization by 2035.
In this context, it is expected that this long-term goal of China will be realized and that it will turn into a strong, harmonious, prosperous, culturally developed, large and democratic country by the middle of the century. It is thought that the corridor in question will also play a critical role in this regard.
At the same time, this corridor is likely to develop the alliance relations between the states parties on the basis of geoeconomy and increase the volume of trilateral trade. Because it can be argued that the products passing through this route will increase the competitiveness. Moreover, it can be stated that the cooperation projects to be implemented will improve the infrastructure and strengthen the cooperation between Beijing, Ulaanbaatar and Moscow. As a result, it is seen that CMREC is one of the most important routes of the Belt and Road Initiative and brings together three critical actors of the global economy.
[1] “President Xi Jinping Delivers Important Speech and Proposes to Build a Silk Road Economic Belt with Central Asian Countries”, Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Toronto, http://toronto.china-consulate.gov.cn/eng/zgxw/201309/t20130913_7095490.htm, (Date of Accesion: 21.07.2023).
[2] “China-Mongolia Ties to Embrace Greater Potentials from Infrastructure to Trade Under China’s BRI and Mongolia’s Steppe Road Program: Envoy”, Global Times, https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202210/1277101.shtml, (Date of Accesion: 21.07.2023).
[3] Aslıhan Genç, “Bir Kuşak Bir Yol Projesi ve Çin”, Bir Kuşak Bir Yol Projesi Kavramlar, Aktörler, Uygulamalar, Serdar Yılmaz, der., Astana Yayınları, Ankara 2019, s. 19-44
[4] “China-Mongolia Ties to Embrace Greater Potentials from Infrastructure to Trade Under China’s BRI and Mongolia’s Steppe Road Program: Envoy”, Global Times, https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202210/1277101.shtml, (Date of Accesion: 21.07.2023).
[5] “China, Russia, Mongolia Vow to Extend Economic Corridor Plan”, China Global Television Network, https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-09-16/China-Russia-Mongolia-vow-to-extend-economic-corridor-plan-1dn1YjJ3yne/index.html, (Date of Accesion: 21.07.2023).
[6] Dinara Taldybayeva, “Çin- Moğolistan- Rusya Ekonomik Koridoru: Tarafların Menfaatleri”, Eurasian Research Institute, 2019.