Strategic Ports and Economic Corridors: A Comparative Analysis of the Belt and Road Initiative’s Geoeconomic Impact through CPEC, Piraeus, and Hambantota

Abstract

This study examines the geoeconomic and geopolitical implications of China’s Belt and Road Initiative through three flagship maritime cases: the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with Gwadar Port, the Port of Piraeus in Greece, and the Port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka. Using geopolitical realism and liberal institutionalism as dual theoretical lenses, the research analyzes how BRI port infrastructure reshapes energy security, regional trade corridors, and power dynamics in the Indian Ocean and Europe. CPEC and Gwadar exemplify China’s attempt to secure alternative energy routes bypassing the Malacca Strait while projecting naval power into the Arabian Sea, generating economic growth but raising debt and sovereignty concerns. Piraeus illustrates the BRI’s capacity to transform underutilized European assets into efficient trade hubs, enhancing EU-China connectivity and reducing transit costs, yet prompting debates on strategic autonomy and foreign control of critical infrastructure. Hambantota represents the most contentious outcome, where unsustainable debt led to a 99-year lease to Chinese operators, fueling the ‘debt-trap diplomacy’ narrative while highlighting the fiscal dilemmas faced by developing states. Cross-cutting challenges include debt sustainability, environmental degradation from carbon-intensive construction and dredging, geopolitical backlash from the US, EU, and India, and governance deficits due to opaque financing and non-competitive procurement. Findings suggest the BRI delivers measurable trade and connectivity gains, with World Bank estimates of 2.7–9.7% trade increases along corridors but unevenly distributes benefits and risks. The study concludes that the long-term success of BRI maritime projects depends on transparent governance, debt-restructuring mechanisms, environmental safeguards, and multilateral standards that balance China’s strategic interests with host-country sovereignty and regional stability.