Combining the 'belt' with the roads at the heart of Europe: Geopolitics of the BBSP corridor

Abstract

This paper discusses the importance of the Budapest-Belgrade-Skopje-Piraeus (BBSP) corridor in the context of the 'One Belt, One Road,' Initiative (B&RI), standing as the connecting piece, to serve as a fast transit route, between three major economic corridors. Indeed, the BBSP appears to be the platform that magnifies the true potential of the Belt and Road Initiative in the Western and central Europe. Therefore, the BBSP is particularly decisive for landlocked economies, such as Hungary and Serbia. The BBSP is a brick on a larger wall when we refer to the cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries. But it is certainly an important one, especially because it delivers flexibility to the network of economic agents. Finally, this paper adopts a geopolitical perspective, grounded in geo-economics concepts.

Keywords

• B&RI
• People's Republic of China
• COSCO
• geopolitics
• Serbia
• Hungary
• Piraeus
• Europe
• Eastern European Countries