China’s interests in South Caucasus can hardly be called strategic and put it in the same line as those with global players, such as Russia and the USA.
1.Nevertheless, Beijing is interested in this region so much as to establish stable economic platforms near the European markets, where it can later on realize the expansion of the Chinese products, investments and workforce. Here China relies on its most competitive external recourse – on the economic penetration into the region’s internal markets. Of course, the level of trade turnover with Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan are less, than with Russia, the USA and the EU, but here Beijing tries to find free markets.
2.The second reason, why China is interested in this region, can be found in the strategic aims of its foreign policy. Beijing is pragmatic in this regard as well. It realizes very well, that South Caucasian countries are in close relations with great powers and to have its active involvement in Armenian-Russian, Georgian-US or Azerbaijani-Turkish relations will not be possible in the near future. However, this does not make China give up. For the South Caucasian countries China as a permanent member of the UN Security Council member is a global power. China cooperates with different countries without interfering in their internal affairs. It does not criticize any country for the absence of democracy, human rights violations and corruption.
3.China is not concerned with the regional conflicts, as it does not participate in the settlement processes, does not maintain any partnership and strategic relations with any country in this region. It has a clearly underlined neutral position in these conflicts and only stressing the importance of their peaceful resolution.
China intends to build relations with Abkhazia, Georgia, the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia, Azerbaijan, but in the official meetings with Georgia and Azerbaijan it never forgets to mention about recognizing the principle of territorial integrity. To develop relations with Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh, China relies on private enterprises, without any official connections.
In this way China brings to our region its unique experience of cooperation with Taiwan. Beijing claims, that Taiwan is a part of China, but at the same time cooperates with it as an independent country.
4.There are two ideologies that China is very well familiar with and that are of great concern for Beijing. These ideologies are Islamic Fundamentalism and Pan-Turkism. One of the sources through which these ideologies can penetrate into China is Caucasus. In terms of countering these threats Caucasus gets an important regional strategic status. This is the reason why Beijing tries to establish relations with every country in the region irrespective of the fact whether it is recognized or not.
At this moment China’s main geopolitical aim is to deepen its economic ties with Caucasus which are aimed at not only against the potential penetration of Pan-Turkism and Islamic Fundamentalism to China, but also against the penetration of other unfavorable ideologies in the region, in this way improving the socio-economic situation of the states. China’s strengthening position in the region is profitable both for Russia and Iran in terms of their joint efforts counteracting Turkey, the West, as well as Pan-Turkism. This question is quite important for China concerning the Uyghur question in Xinjiang region.
5.As everywhere, in the Caucasus as well China tackles with every question in a long-term perspective. Chinese do not aspire to get results in 1-2 years; they are putting forward the interests of their country gradually, thus envisaging results after decades.
At last, what are China’s interests in the Caucasus? First of all it is the expansion of trade volumes with energy-rich countries, founding overland routes between Asia and Europe, as well as securing the political stability and the territorial integrity of the countries. In the long-term perspective, the development of these interest will mean, that China will impede to any attempt for border changes or for any change in the balance of powers in the region.
In contrast to other superpowers involved in the politics of the Caucasus, China has the least historical experience in geopolitical relations with the Caucasus. Though, those relations have been in the framework of Great Silk Road, they were commercial and cultural relations. Previously, the Caucasus has never been in the sphere of China’s geopolitical interests. Yet one cannot say that Caucasian direction has become one of the priority fields of China. It should be mentioned, that still no Chinese president or a prime-minister has ever visited our region. The highest official visit has been delegations on the level of ministers. Chinese ministers organize official visits to the South Caucasus very random.
At this moment China’s main geopolitical aim is to deepen its economic ties with Caucasus which are aimed at not only against the potential penetration of Pan-Turkism and Islamic Fundamentalism to China, but also against the penetration of other unfavorable ideologies in the region, in this way improving the socio-economic situation of the states.