The New Silk Road Triangle: China, Russia and Europe

The New Silk Road as the most ambitious macro-project in the current time is the sign and symbol of China’s power projection beyond its borders. Two lanes of the six lanes of the land belt of the New Silk Road go through the Russian territory. Also, Europe will be the main terminal of the land and sea routes of this grand project. Furthermore, China’s relations with Russia and Europe will involve potential tensions with huge consequences for the balance of power and global economy. From this perspective, the main issue is some sort of divergence and convergence of these three big powers along the Silk Road’s Eurasian land route. What are the divergence and convergence factors in China’s relations with Russia and Europe along the New Silk Road? The thesis is premised on the fact that the Polar Silk Road lays the ground for convergence, and the one going through Central Asia diverges Moscow and Beijing, and on the other side, China’s projects in the Balkans cause convergence in East Europe, while bringing divergence of relations with Central and Western Europe powers. This writing shows in detail the branches and the consequences of the Icy (Polar) Silk Road. Also, it enumerates the challenges and opportunities between China and Russia, especially in Central Asia; then, it shows China’s policy-line for infiltrating into East Europe and the Balkans. The paper explores the extent and expanse of China’s tense relations with West Europe countries. The theoretical framework of the paper is progressive based on a tri-faceted and tri-spherical reading of geopolitics. Such a framework of connection of these three structures with geographical factors shows that the roots and consequences of this macro-project can be traced back to the spheres of Geopolitics, Geo-culture,   and Geo-economy as well as to the three “International”, “Regional”, and “Internal” levels.