Geopolitical rivalry between the USA and China for transport corridors in Central Asia and problems of regional security

Abstract

The gradual development of international transport corridors is the core of the political, economic, integration, modernization, spiritual, and cultural development of all countries of modernity. The transport industry, which is an effective means of transporting goods, is becoming an essential link in the world economy and the main instrument of the globalization process. In this regard, consideration of aspects of the development of international transport corridors is a vital and high-priority problem for research. In addition to playing the role of a geopolitically important link in the world, the Central Asian region is becoming the center of the intersection of international transport corridors. A crucial factor influencing national and regional security is the geopolitical rivalry of the key actors of world politics in Central Asia. This trend is associated with the huge reserves of oil and gas, uranium, as well as the significance of the strategic position of the region as a linkage between the markets of Europe and Asia. Conflicts arising from the desire of the leading actors of world politics to establish control over international transport corridors bring to the agenda the problem of the security of the region through which these corridors pass. The primary task in the era of globalization for the states of Central Asia located along the “Great Silk Road” is to ensure regional security, including the national one. This scientific article considers the influence of the “international transport corridors” factor on the regional security of Central Asia, analyzes the geopolitical problems of transport corridors, the role of transport projects for the revival of the Silk Road initiated by the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China, and the impact of geopolitical rivalry between the two countries on the regional security of Central Asia.