Research On Development Strategies Of International Transportation Corridors Between Uzbekistan And China

After independence in 1991,Uzbekistan chose open market economy as the main direction of development and until today country experienced huge economic and social reforms.At present,Uzbekistan is an equal member of authoritative international organizations and the international community.From the very beginning of Uzbekistan's independence,China was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with it.The two countries have similar positions on fighting against terrorism,extremism,separatism,drug trafficking,illegal arms trade,and other security challenges.Moreover,in history,both countries were key players in Great Silk Road which means transport communications were one of the main factors in the development of relationships between the two countries.Recently,China is implementing new "One belt-One road" which gives impetus to the development of transport infrastructure of not only two countries but the whole region of Central Asia.Moreover,this project improves trade,opens new markets for goods and access for the cheapest raw materials,increases the number of transport corridors between countries.Currently between Uzbekistan and China have 3 transport corridors which are not enough and not efficient,because the economy of the two countries are developing without stopping.Consequently,the governments of the two countries are working on opening new transport corridors through new transit countries.This paper studies the evaluation of transport corridors between Uzbekistan and China.In order to achieve the main goal,first,the development of international trade and transportation in Uzbekistan was analyzed.As a model for evaluation of main criteria that influence the efficiency of transport corridors,AHP evaluation system was used.Cost,time,transit country,infrastructure,environment,security,and capacity are considered as main criteria for evaluation.Besides three transport corridors,two new projected alternative corridors also included in the evaluation.In order to find which corridor is the most efficient according to the main criteria,TOPSIS method was used.All corridors are going through transit countries,therefore,these transit countries also analyzed with SWOT analysis.Last part of the thesis is dedicated for studying the role of Central Asian countries in the development of transport infrastructure under China's "New Silk Route" initiative and government policies for encouraging of development of transport communications between Uzbekistan and China.