The panel was moderated by Silviu NATE, Director of the Center for Global Studies at the University of Sibiu, Romania, and brought together the following speakers: James CARAFANO, Senior Counselor to the President and E.W. Richardson Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, USA; Ambassador Fatih CEYLAN, President of the Ankara Policy Center, Türkiye; Dorin IONIȚĂ, Senior Advisor to the President of GRAMPET Group; Kaush ARHA, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council, and former Senior Advisor on Strategic Engagement at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); Anuar BURANBAYEV, Partner at the Center for Research and Consulting, Kazakhstan; and Tomoyuki YOSHIDA, Chief Executive Director of The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), Japan.

The discussions focused on the importance of connectivity as a key component in the strategic competition among major powers. In this regard, speakers emphasized the significance of the Middle Corridor—the new Silk Road—in global trade and in linking Asia with Europe. For the Middle Corridor to become a successful project and a viable connection between China and Europe, beyond addressing the issues highlighted in the World Bank Report, there must be regular, daily connections between the ports of Constanța and those in Georgia, along with consistent and high-quality intermodal transport services from these ports to Central and Western Europe.

Moreover, although the United States does not directly benefit from this corridor, it has a major interest in exerting greater influence over it in order to counter China’s influence within the broader context of global power competition. Ultimately, such trade routes also serve a geopolitical role for great powers, enabling them to exert malign influence over other actors. Finally, the panel also debated how initiatives such as the Belt and Road play not only an economic but especially a geopolitical role for China, particularly in the context of its malign influence in Europe and its rivalry with the United States.

Watch the live sessions on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/EREQpph5GXo?feature=share