The Belt and Road Initiative consists of two corridors: One route, known as the ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’, follows the historical overland Silk Road through Central Asia, Iran, Turkey and eventually to Europe. The other route, or ‘Maritime Silk Road’, originates in the South China Sea, passing through the Malacca Strait, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and extending into the Mediterranean Sea.
Turkey lies in a geostrategically important location that connects Europe, Asia and (by sea and air) Africa. Thus, Turkey lies on the shortest route for China's ambitious plans to create a Eurasian trading network. Turkey has declared its strong interest in the Belt and Road Initiative from the commencement. A memorandum of understanding was signed between Turkey and China in 2015 on aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with Turkey's Middle Corridor Initiative.
The Marmaray Tunnel linking the continents of Asia and Europe under the Istanbul Strait became operational in 2013. The Edirne-Kars high speed railway will provide the essential modern connection across Turkey. Another major project, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will provide an efficient railway connection linking Turkey, the Caucasus and Central Asia. With the completion of the Baku (Azerbaijan)–Tbilisi (Georgia)–Kars (Turkey) railway link (BTK), Turkey has achieved linking its national railways to the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. The Edirne-Kars high speed railway project is among the most prominent works already happening. It is a natural extension of the BTK railway and is about 4,750 km long. The railway is critical for both Europe and Asia, constituting an integral part of the Belt and Road Initiative along with Turkey's Middle Corridor Initiative.
Turkey has been developing other transport corridor projects. These include the third Istanbul Airport (inaugurated in 2019), and the construction of the Filyos (expected to be completed in July 2019), Candarlı and Mersin ports.
There are significant benefits for the Turkish economy to be an integral part of the Belt and Road Initiative. The industries that will benefit most are the Transport and Storage industry as well as the Construction industry. The Belt and Road Initiative also provides Turkey the opportunity to pursue long-term political and economic benefits in centre Turkey as the leading economic power in Eurasia as it is already the largest economy in the region after Russia with an upper-middle income economy. This gives Turkey a robust negotiating position to ensure its own interests are taken into account alongside Chinese interests.
TurkAnalitik sees the Belt and Road Initiative as a win-win opportunity for both Chinese and Turkish economies as well as all other economies that lie on this economic growth path.