NAVIGATING CORRIDORS: SINO-US RIVALRY IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF CPEC AND IMEC

Abstract

The culmination of the Cold War with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and the emergence of the United States as a key player marked a significant turning point in the 20 th Century. However, the rise of China challenged this unipolarity and emerged as a strategic and economic competitor to US interests in the world. This competition emanates from technical advancement, strategic alliances toward military projections, and strategic crossroads. With the depletion of land resources, oceans became the center of strategic and economic attraction for global players. In this context, the Indian Ocean, being the third largest ocean, provides immense opportunities for its littoral states and is the midpoint of worldwide trade and energy. Therefore, capturing this route or maintaining influence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has become a paramount desire of great powers. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) are divergent projects with the ambition to counter the interests of global rivals. India, China, and the US are the key players in these two projects to serve the vested interests of the involved actors. The outset of IMEC in the presence of a Chinese-driven project (CPEC) manifests the signs of global rivalry in the IOR. Also, it depicts the global endeavors to maintain the hegemony in the IOR. The Regional Integration Theory has been employed to explore two strategic corridors with diverging interests and their implications on the IOR which unfolds how these infrastructure projects shaped economic and geopolitical power. This paper examines how India and the U.S. view CPEC as a threat to their influence, complicating support for IMEC, which was seen as a rival to China’s BRI. Ultimately, these corridors reflect distinct regional priorities, contributing to ongoing geopolitical competition and global power dynamics.