Journal of Geographical Sciences >
Incorporating the Istanbul-Ankara high-speed railway into the Belt and Road Initiative: Negotiation, institutional alignment and regional development
Seth Schindler, Senior Lecturer, specialized in urban development and transformation, specialized in urban geography and regional studies. E-mail: seth.schindler@manchester.ac.uk |
Received date: 2020-12-17
Accepted date: 2021-03-06
Online published: 2021-07-25
Supported by
Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA20010102)
National Natural Science Foundation of China(41871115)
National Natural Science Foundation of China(41530751)
British Academy Newton Advanced Fellowship(NAF2R2/100172)
Copyright
This article contributes to a small but growing body of multi-sited and multi-scalar research on the Belt and Road Initiative. We focus on relations at the national, regional and international scales, and present original research from China and Turkey, to show how the Istanbul-Ankara high-speed railway has served as a testing ground for China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Its construction was initially funded by the European Investment Bank, but it is now part of the backbone of the Turkish Government’s Middle Corridor plan which enhances west-east connectivity and integration with the Caucasus and Central Asia. We show that in contrast to multinational corporations from the OECD that seek to remain footloose, Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) seek to adapt to, apprehend and ultimately shape local institutions. In the case of Turkey this proved difficult given its institutional alignment with the European Union. Thus, while the railway project was completed successfully by a consortium led by a Chinese SOE, Turkey’s dynamic and complex regulatory environment discourages Chinese SOEs in the infrastructure sector. We conclude that the Turkish and Chinese governments are currently pursuing complementary territorial visions yet their cooperation is project-based and pragmatic.
Key words: Belt and Road Initiative; infrastructure; high speed rail; regional development; Turkey; China
Seth SCHINDLER , Mustafa Kemal BAYIRBAĞ , GAO Boyang . Incorporating the Istanbul-Ankara high-speed railway into the Belt and Road Initiative: Negotiation, institutional alignment and regional development[J]. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2021 , 31(5) : 747 -762 . DOI: 10.1007/s11442-021-1869-1
Table 1 Key turning points/developments in the (political-economic) relations between Turkey and China |
Year | Key development/issue |
---|---|
1971 | Diplomatic relations established |
1992 | Turkey-PRC Business Council established |
1997 | Turkey’s disillusionment with the EU’s Luxemburg Meeting |
2000 | Trade volume between Turkey and China surpasses $1 billion |
2005 | Chinese firms won the bid for Istanbul-Ankara HSR project |
2010 | Wen Jiabao visits Ankara and the two countries establish a strategic partnership |
2012 | Monetary swap agreement |
2014 | Istanbul-Ankara HSR in service |
2015 | Erdoğan visits Beijing (third meeting with Xi Jinping) |
2015 | MoU signed for the BRI cooperation |
2017 | The central component of the Middle Corridor, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway in service |
2019 | Monetary Swap Agreement renewed |
Sources: Adıbelli, 2016: 323-399; Bahçecik, 2017: 52-54; Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2020b,Türkiye-Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti Ekonomik İlişkileri (Ministerial Brief): http://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkiye-cin-halk- cumhuriyeti-ekonomik-iliskileri.tr.mfa (accessed Oct 13, 2020); Erdoğan, 2019: https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1156357.shtml (accessed Oct 13, 2020) |
Figure 1 The Istanbul-Ankara High Speed Railway |
Table 2 Key developments in the history of the project |
Year | Key development |
---|---|
2003 | The HSR Project was formulated by the Turkish government |
2005 | The bid was won by Chinese companies |
2006 | Contract signed, 1.27 billion USD |
2006 | The EIB disburses the first installment |
2007 | China Exim Bank disburses loan of 720 million USD |
2008 | Construction begins |
2011 | EIB disburses second tranche |
2013 | EIB disburses third tranche |
2014 | Project completed |
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