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Strategiska handelsvägar och kinesiskt inflytande inom Belt and Road Initiative

Torun, Deniz LU (2026) STVK05 20261
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This thesis examines how Chinese presence in strategic trade corridors within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can be transformed into political influence. The study compares two strategically significant maritime corridors: the route through Bab al-Mandab and the Suez Canal, and the corridor through the Strait of Hormuz. Using a comparative case study design combined with process tracing, the thesis analyses how Chinese investments in ports, logistics infrastructure, energy systems, and security arrangements create economic and geopolitical dependency relations. The analysis is grounded in theories of realism, structural power, and asymmetric interdependence, with particular emphasis on substitutability as a condition... (More)
This thesis examines how Chinese presence in strategic trade corridors within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can be transformed into political influence. The study compares two strategically significant maritime corridors: the route through Bab al-Mandab and the Suez Canal, and the corridor through the Strait of Hormuz. Using a comparative case study design combined with process tracing, the thesis analyses how Chinese investments in ports, logistics infrastructure, energy systems, and security arrangements create economic and geopolitical dependency relations. The analysis is grounded in theories of realism, structural power, and asymmetric interdependence, with particular emphasis on substitutability as a condition affecting the conversion of economic control into political influence. The findings indicate that Chinese influence develops through mechanisms such as structural dependency, financial dominance, security dependence, and control over critical infrastructure. However, the degree of political influence varies between the two corridors. In the Suez and Bab al-Mandab corridor, higher substitutability and the presence of multiple international actors limit China’s ability to exert direct political leverage. In contrast, the Strait of Hormuz demonstrates lower substitutability and stronger energy dependency, creating more favourable conditions for asymmetric interdependence and geopolitical influence. The study concludes that strategic trade corridors function not only as economic transport routes but also as instruments of structural geopolitical power in contemporary great-power competition. (Less)
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author
Torun, Deniz LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK05 20261
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Belt and Road Initiative, China, Strategic Trade Corridors, Political Influence, Asymmetric Interdependence, Geopolitics
language
Swedish
id
9227146
date added to LUP
2026-06-16 12:02:30
date last changed
2026-06-16 12:02:30
@misc{9227146,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines how Chinese presence in strategic trade corridors within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can be transformed into political influence. The study compares two strategically significant maritime corridors: the route through Bab al-Mandab and the Suez Canal, and the corridor through the Strait of Hormuz. Using a comparative case study design combined with process tracing, the thesis analyses how Chinese investments in ports, logistics infrastructure, energy systems, and security arrangements create economic and geopolitical dependency relations. The analysis is grounded in theories of realism, structural power, and asymmetric interdependence, with particular emphasis on substitutability as a condition affecting the conversion of economic control into political influence. The findings indicate that Chinese influence develops through mechanisms such as structural dependency, financial dominance, security dependence, and control over critical infrastructure. However, the degree of political influence varies between the two corridors. In the Suez and Bab al-Mandab corridor, higher substitutability and the presence of multiple international actors limit China’s ability to exert direct political leverage. In contrast, the Strait of Hormuz demonstrates lower substitutability and stronger energy dependency, creating more favourable conditions for asymmetric interdependence and geopolitical influence. The study concludes that strategic trade corridors function not only as economic transport routes but also as instruments of structural geopolitical power in contemporary great-power competition.}},
  author       = {{Torun, Deniz}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Strategiska handelsvägar och kinesiskt inflytande inom Belt and Road Initiative}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}