China–Central Asia–West Asia Economic Corridor

Transportation corridor in Asia and Europe

The China–Central Asia–West Asia Economic Corridor (abbreviated as CCAWEC) is an economic and transportation corridor of the Belt and Road Initiative, a global economic connectivity program led by China. The corridor was one of the 6 land corridors articulated in the initial vision for the BRI in 2015. It has since the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in 2019 become one of 35 corridors and project officially included in the BRI.[1][2]

## Countries[edit]

Academic researchers have variously included the countries of Central Asia, the Caucasus, Middle East, Balkans and Turkey as part of the corridor. A report on the BRI by the OECD in 2018 classifies the following long list of countries as part of the corridor: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, the Palestinian Authority, Romania, Serbia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.[3]

## Freight route[edit]

The train route from Xi'an to Prague

The China Railways Express, the first freight train to travel along the corridor, made its maiden trip in November 2016 from China (Xi'an) to Europe (Prague) in 18 days. The railway service traveled from China to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey (passing through Istanbul's Marmaray Tunnel under the Bosphorus) before arriving in Central Europe. Travelling at an average speed of 40 km/h.[4]

## Related initiatives[edit]

See also: Middle Corridor

The areas covered by the corridor overlaps with several other regional transportation initiatives. The Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway going through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey is nicknamed the "Iron Silk Road". The railway line and the Port of Baku rail head are both included in the list BRI corridors and projects. A columnist for the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet saw the railway line as joining with the BRI in the region and challenging Russia's own BRI connected corridor as a primary corridor from China to Europe.[5]

## Significance[edit]

CCAWEC provides an alternative land route route between China and Europe which avoids Russian territory.[6]: 107

## References[edit]

1. ^ "China denies abandoning BCIM corridor". PTI. June 10, 2019.
2. ^ "Joint Communique of the Leaders' Roundtable of the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China.
3. ^ "The Belt and Road Initiative in the global trade, investment and finance landscape". OECD.
4. ^ "First train from China to Europe makes 'Silk Railway' dream come true in Turkey". Daily Sabah. 7 November 2019.
5. ^ "The 'Iron Silk Road'". Hurriyet. November 9, 2017.
6. ^ Sahakyan, Mher (2023). "China and the South Caucasus in a Multipolar World Order 2.0". China and Eurasian Powers in a Multipolar World Order 2.0: Security, Diplomacy, Economy and Cyberspace. Mher Sahakyan. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-003-35258-7. OCLC 1353290533.

* v
* t
* e

Belt and Road Initiative

Corridors and projects
(2019 Joint Communique)|

| Asia|

* China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
* Trans-Himalayan Network/China–Nepal Railway
* China-Myanmar Economic Corridor
* Eastern Economic Corridor (Thailand)
* Two Corridors, One Belt (Vietnam)
* Economic corridor in Greater Mekong Subregion
* China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor/Laos-China Economic Corridor
* China-Laos-Thailand Railway Cooperation
* New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor
* Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor (Indonesia)
* China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park
* Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park
* Brunei-Guangxi Economic Corridor
* China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor
* Uzbekistan-Tajikistan-China International Highway
* China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan International Highway

|

Eurasia|

* New Eurasian Land Bridge
* Port of Piraeus
* China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line
* Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway/Alyat Free Economic Zone
* Trans-European Transport Network
* TRACECA/TITR
* China–Belarus Industrial Park
* China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor
* International North–South Transport Corridor

Africa|

* Suez Canal Economic Zone
* Cape to Cairo Road
* Port Sudan-Ethiopia Railway
* Addis Ababa-Djibouti Economic Corridor
* Northern Corridor
* LAPSSET
* VICMED

Americas|

* Agua Negra Pass International Tunnel

Theme|

* Transoceanic fiber optic cable
* Polar Silk Road

Linked to the BRI|

| Corridors|

* Air Silk Road
* Space Silk Road
* Digital Silk Road
* Global Energy Interconnection
* Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar Economic Corridor

|

Projects|

* Hulhumalé
* Sino-Oman Industrial Park
* China-UAE Industrial Zone
* Port of Haifa
* Lekki Free Trade Zone

Financial|

| Concepts|

* Internationalization of the renminbi
* Panda bonds
* Green finance

|

Banking|

| Policy|

* Agricultural Development Bank of China
* China Development Bank
* China Exim Bank
* Sinosure
* Sino Guarantee

|

Multilateral|

* Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
* New Development Bank
* SCO Interbank Consortium

Platforms|

| Funds|

* Silk Road Fund
* Green Silk Road Fund
* China-Eurasian Economic Cooperation Fund
* China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund
* Russia-China Investment Fund
* China-CEE Investment Cooperation Fund
* China-LAC Cooperation Fund
* Sino-Latin American Production Capacity Cooperation Investment Fund
* China-Brazil Fund
* China Africa Development Fund

|

Credit lines|

* Special Loan Program for China-Latin America Infrastructure Project
* China-Arab states special loans

Political|

| Policy|

* Leading Group
* Community of shared future for mankind

|

Dialogue|

| Belt and Road Forum|

* 2017
* 2019
* 2023

|

Multilateral mechanisms
(2019 Leading Group report)

* G20
* APEC
* Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
* Asia-Europe Meeting
* Asia Cooperation Dialogue
* Caribbean Development Bank
* Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia
* ASEAN-China (10+1)
* Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism
* Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation
* Greater Tumen Initiative
* Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation
* Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
* China-Arab States Cooperation Forum
* China-CELAC Forum
* China-CEEC (14+1)
* China-Pacific Island Countries Forum
* World Economic Forum
* Boao Forum for Asia

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template