On 7 November 2022, CSHK successfully organized a seminar entitled “China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Central Asia”, featuring as speaker Dr. Mher Sahakyan, an AsiaGlobal Fellow of the Asia Global Institute of University of Hong Kong. He is the founder and director of the China-Eurasia Council for Political and Strategic Research, in Yerevan, Armenia. In the last few years, he has published several books on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with a focus on Eurasia. CSHK Member Dr. June Wang moderated the seminar.

Dr. Mher Sahakyan shared his insights on the implications of the BRI on Central Asia. He examined several significant economic corridors of BRI – the China-Central Asia-Western Asia Economic Corridor, the New Eurasian Land Bridge Economic Corridor, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Corridor. They promote the infrastructure modernization of Central Asian countries and their connectivity with other economies, though the transportation capacity can be further expanded. The Digital Silk Road also opens new prospects for Central Asian states for developing their technologies. The cooperation between China and Russia in Central Asia provides a stable environment for the region to develop. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization serves as a main instrument for China to stabilize the Central Asia and safeguard its security in the region.

Dozens of scholars and students joined the seminar physically and online and had a very lively discussion with the speaker in the Q&A session. The seminar was co-organized in collaboration with the Department of Public & International Affairs, City University of Hong Kong.

Source:https://www.facebook.com/sushkresearchhub