Understanding China’s Arctic Policy in the context of Belt and Road Initiative

Year 2021, Volume: 3 Issue: 1 (Arktik Özel Sayısı), 244 - 262, 19.04.2021

Hüseyin Korkmaz

Abstract

Belt and Road Initiative is a trade network design put forward by China that aims to reach every region on a global scale. The geopolitical and trade value of the Arctic is increasingly important as a result of the glacier melting and climatic changes. This study examines the characteristics of China's Arctic policy and its relationship with the belt-road initiative through the 'white paper' published in 2018. The economic and diplomatic manoeuvres that China has put forward in its foreign policy in the context of the belt and road initiative also show itself in the example of the arctic. In this study, the relationship between the belt and road initiative with China's arctic policy will be analyzed. This relationship has a connection with the proactive approach that China has put forward in its foreign policy with its rise. This link seems to make sense in a global context. Therefore, a global analysis to understand China's interest in the arctic will be a contributing effort. Striving to establish a global trade network with the Belt and Road Initiative, China places a special emphasis on the arctic because of the shortening of shipping routes and being an alternative trade line. In this study, it was argued that China's interest in the arctic increased due to the belt and road initiative and that its geopolitical and trade potential as an alternative corridor was noticed. While this awareness moves towards a strategic partnership with Russia in the region, it can also come to the fore as a new conflict area in the competition with the USA.

Keywords

China, The Rise of China, Arctic, Belt and Road Inıtiative, Polar Silk Road

Kuşak ve Yol Girişimi Bağlamında Çin’in Arktik Politikası

Abstract

Kuşak ve Yol Girişimi, Çin’in küresel ölçekte her bölgeye ulaşmayı hedefleyen bir ticaret ağı tasarımı olarak öne çıkmaktadır. Öte yandan iklimsel değişiklikler ve buzulların erimesi sonucunda Arktika’nın jeopolitik ve ticari değeri günden güne artmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı Çin’in Arktika politikasının hangi ölçüde ve yoğunlukta Kuşak ve Yol Girişimi ile ilişkili olduğunu ortaya koymak ve geleceğe dönük kestirimlerde bulunmaktır. Kuşak ve Yol Girişimi ile beraber Çin’in küresel ölçekte mal arzını güvenli ve hızlı bir şekilde kotarmaya çalışması Arktika’nın öne çıkmasını sağlamış ve Çin’in hem bölge ülkeleri hem de küresel güçler ile olan ilişkilerini önemli hale getirmiştir. Çalışmanın teorik ve kavramsal çerçevesi jeopolitik kavramı üzerinden yapılanmaktadır. Bu noktada Halford Mackinder, Alfred Thayer Mahan ve N. Spykman’ın görüşleri esas alınmıştır. Bu çerçevede Çin’in Arktika politikasının karakteristikleri, özellikleri ve Kuşak-Yol Girişimi ile ilişkisi 2018 yılında Çin tarafından yayınlanan ‘Beyaz Kitap’ üzerinden incelenmiştir. Çalışma bu yönü ile nitel araştırma yöntemini tercih ederek resmi söylemin analizine odaklanmıştır. Bu çalışmada Çin’in Kuşak ve Yol Girişimi’nin etkisi ile Arktika’ya olan ilgisinin arttığı ve Arktika’nın alternatif bir koridor olarak jeopolitik potansiyelinin farkına varıldığı savunulmuştur. Bu farkındalık, bölgede Rusya ile beraber yeni bir ortaklığa doğru giderken aynı zamanda ABD ile keskinleşen küresel rekabette yeni bir problem alanı olarak öne çıkabilir.

Keywords

Çin, Çin'in Yükselişi, Kuşak ve Yol Girişimi, Kutup İpek Yolu, Arktic

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