Raymond YuRaymond Yu

Map Creator: Raymond Yu ’19

Turkey is one of the earliest supporting members of the Belt Road Initiative. Its geological location serves as the bridge between Europe and Asia, and providing access to the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. China’s ambition is to utilize Turkey’s transportation system, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway and the Edirne-Kars High Speed Railway to connect trade directly from China to Europe. Additionally, China hopes to connect the ports in Turkey to the Greek port of Piraeus for developing the Maritime Silk Road. Not only does Turkey serves as an essential middle corridor for China’s cross-continental trade objective, it is also an energy hub for transporting gas from Russia and Azerbaijan to Southern Europe. This map is intended to show the role of Turkey as an intermediary for China, Russia, and Southern Europe with the effects it has on Turkey’s economy.