China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: A Chinese Gateway to the Indian Ocean Region
Abstract
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) flagship project that connects Kashgar in China with Gwadar in Pakistan. This paper analyses the reasons behind China’s intention to transform Pakistan through CPEC as a gateway to the Indian Ocean. By conducting unstructured interviews with experts and examining projects under the CPEC and the dynamic interaction between power and space, this paper found that, upon its successful completion, the CPEC will serve as a gateway for China in reducing its vulnerabilities in the Indian Ocean region. Simultaneously, it is predicted that the CPEC will transform China, a hinterland state, into a resident power in the Indian Ocean region, thereby challenging the 'enclosed geopolitical space and strategic nature’ of the Indian Ocean. Much has been written on the benefits of CPEC for Pakistan, but there is a very little academic discussion on how it strategically benefits China, which is its main financer. Therefore, the study contributes to research on China’s geopolitics reorientation in general and the transformation of spaces through economic development for strategic gains in particular.
Keywords: gateway state, Indian Ocean Region, Belt and Road Initiative, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Pakistan, China.
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