Global Cities of the Middle Corridor

A significant number of scientists have posited that the global economy is currently undergoing a transformation, characterised by a notable increase in the economic potential and importance of the world's largest or global cities. Consequently, when evaluating the prospects of specific regions, it is essential to consider the presence of global cities within that region. The future lies not with nation states, but with these global cities.

In 2014, the findings of an international study on the relationship between global cities and nation-states, led by Professor G. Clark (ULI, London), were published. The project identified 12 global cities: Hong Kong, London, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto, Shanghai and Seoul. The combined GDP of these cities was then 10 per cent of global GDP. It is reasonable to posit that this percentage is certain to be even higher today.

The study examined the positive and negative aspects of global cities from the perspective of developing international economic linkages. The positive characteristics of global cities included the concentration of economic sectors, the location of the headquarters of international companies, a developed labour market, and an attractive position for tourism due to the city's political and cultural status.

Over the past decade, the role of global cities has become increasingly prominent. The location of global cities is largely responsible for the establishment of major transit and logistics routes. Furthermore, there has been a notable surge in the growth and significance of global cities situated along transit routes or at their inception, despite their lack of fulfilment of metropolitan functions.

From this perspective, the Middle Corridor, which connects China, Central Asia and the South Caucasus with Europe, represents a highly promising opportunity. The 'gateways' to the Middle Corridor, both in the east and in the west, are megacities that are undoubtedly global cities, although they are not capitals. These are Xi'an in China, where the Xi'an Declaration between the People's Republic of China and Central Asian countries was signed, and Istanbul in Turkey, which has a population of over 16 million.

Xi'an has historically served as China's "starting point," from which the Great Silk Road extended westward. With a population exceeding 14 million, Xi'an is currently one of China's most prominent industrial and business hubs. The following cities are situated along the Middle Corridor between Xi'an and Beijing, from east to west (in descending order of population):
Xinan (14.2 million)
Lanzhou (4.0 million)
Urumqi (3.9 million)
Almaty (1.9 million)
Bishkek (1.1 million)
Tashkent (2.8 million)
Ashgabat (1.0 million)
Baku (2.7 million)
Tbilisi (1.7 million)
Ankara (5.8 million)
Istanbul (16.5 million)

A network of global cities can be identified along the Middle Corridor, each of which exerts a dominant influence over either the surrounding region or its own country. It seems inevitable that connections between these cities will be forged. This is particularly the case given that some of these cities, despite the existence of state borders, are geographically closer to one another than to other urban centres within their respective countries.

To illustrate, Urumqi is situated at a greater distance from Lanzhou, the nearest Chinese megacity, and Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, than it is from Almaty, the economic capital of Kazakhstan. In consequence, Almaty is situated at a greater distance from Astana than from Urumqi and the capitals of the two largest cities in the neighbouring countries of Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek) and Uzbekistan (Tashkent).

The location of these cities along the primary logistics routes of the Middle Corridor will undoubtedly facilitate their continued and dynamic development. It is inevitable that the question of high-speed land transport, in particular railways along the Middle Corridor between the 'chain' of megacities, will arise at some point in the future. Currently, only high-speed rail connections exist within national state borders, namely between Xi'an, Lanzhou and Urumqi in China and Istanbul and Ankara in Turkey. However, modernising railways, specifically the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars main line, makes it a realistic proposition to connect Istanbul and Ankara with Tbilisi and Baku by high-speed rail.

All global cities in the Middle Corridor are typified, along with other global cities, by analogous issues that researchers initially identified as 'side effects of becoming a global city'. These include, in particular, dependence on the functioning of the management apparatus of national states and governments (which, at times, impedes the development of independent city management), overloaded transport systems, environmental issues, and social disunity. Moreover, the experience of solving these problems could be of benefit within the framework of cooperation between the countries of the Middle Corridor.

Vladimir Tskhvediani
Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Strategic Partnership Information Support Centre

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