CHINA'S CAUCASUS POLICY

• Assoc. Prof. Erkan Avcı

  Department of Political Science and International Relations Uzbekistan State World Language University

  Author

This article examines China's evolving policies toward the Caucasus region, with a particular focus on the South Caucasus countries of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. It analyzes China's strategic interests in the region, including energy security, trade corridor development, and geopolitical balancing among Russia, the United States, and regional powers. The study highlights how China, while maintaining a strategic partnership with Russia that limits its involvement in the North Caucasus, actively pursues economic and commercial engagement in the South Caucasus through projects such as the TRACECA corridor, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, and the revival of the Silk Road. The article argues that China's growing energy demands and its desire to circumvent Western-dominated transit routes drive its increasing presence in the region. Despite historical and political complexities—including unresolved conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia—China pursues a pragmatic "One China" policy and fosters bilateral trade and investment ties. The paper concludes that as China's global influence expands, its role in the Caucasus will deepen, making it an increasingly important partner for the regional states.

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