The Middle Corridor is one of the five key routes connecting China with foreign markets.

Axar.az reports that Russian expert and Doctor of History, Aleksey Maslov, made this statement in an interview with Armenian media.

According to him, the Middle Corridor is a priority for China, and he does not hide this fact:

"Over the past five years, China has realized that many regions and corridors could be closed due to wars, US actions, and counter-effects. Therefore, China wants to diversify these corridors as much as possible, specifically funding many railway lines, including those in Azerbaijan and Georgia. Even if it doesn’t directly benefit from them, this at least reduces the risk of trade routes being closed. This is why, in 5-7 years, the Middle Corridor will be a very important route for China."

The expert believes that China has a fairly strong position in the South Caucasus:

"Moreover, the US is not currently capable or willing to provide the necessary funding for many projects. They need transport corridors to carry their goods, but the question arises as to what goods will be transported there. The US is not a country that supplies a large amount of goods to the region. The main suppliers are China and the Middle Eastern countries. I don't think it's possible to have a trade-logistics corridor, including in the Middle East, outside of China in the current situation."

He added that the deep-water port planned for construction in Georgia, which will be funded by China, should increase cargo shipments by at least 15-20% and reduce transportation costs by 10-15%.