Küresel Ticaret Rotaları ve Çin’in Doğu Türkistan Üzerine Etkileri
Global Trade Routes and China’s Impacts on East Turkestan

Summary/Abstract: China's Belt and Road Initiative is a large-scale infrastructure and development project launched to increase its influence in the global economy and reshape trade routes. Announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, this initiative aims to strengthen economic ties with various countries through extensive infrastructure projects covering both land and maritime routes. Within this framework, the implemented infrastructure projects play a significant role in reshaping global trade routes while contributing to geoeconomic growth strategies. This study focuses on the strategic importance of the Belt and Road Initiative in East Turkistan, while also addressing its geoeconomic growth, political influences, and risk management dimensions. Due to its central position in energy transfer routes, East Turkistan plays a crucial role in China's economic growth strategy. However, in addition to geoeconomic impacts, the region is also marked by ethnic and social tensions. These tensions stem primarily from China's demographic change policies, the cultural and religious suppression of the Uyghur people, economic opportunity inequalities, and strict political control mechanisms. Notably, the migration of Han Chinese, the erosion of the Uyghur Turks' cultural identity, and their exclusion from economic prosperity deepen ethnic divisions and exacerbate social unrest. While the Belt and Road Initiative offers opportunities such as regional development, infrastructure growth, and global integration, it also carries significant political and economic risks, including criticisms of debt-trap diplomacy, environmental and social risks, security concerns, and governance challenges. Therefore, although the initiative's long-term impacts align with China's global strategic goals, it entails considerable risks.

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