On the Tracks of Sovereignty
RAILWAYS, STATE, AND SPATIAL PLANNING IN CHINA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61389/geofronter.v12.10319Keywords:
Ferrovias; Planejamento territorial; Rede técnica; Estado; China.Abstract
Railways play a strategic role in spatial organization, territorial integration and the economic competitiveness of nation states. In the context of globalization, transport infrastructures constitute technical networks embedded with intentionality, capable of hierarchizing territories and guiding productive flows. In many peripheral countries, the restructuring of transport systems occurred under neoliberal logic, subordinating territorial planning to market rationality and resulting in fragmented and selective networks. In contrast, the Chinese experience highlights the central role of the State and long-term planning in the development of railway infrastructure. This article analyzes the trajectory of railways in China through a qualitative historical-structural approach, combining a critical literature review with the analysis of secondary data on the expansion and modernization of the railway network. The results indicate that the Chinese railway system has been conceived as an instrument of territorial integration, strengthening of the domestic market and reduction of regional inequalities, becoming a key element of national sovereignty and geoeconomic projection.
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