In Georgia, a former Soviet republic neighboring Russia, pro-Western marchers have been protesting for over a year against their government’s perceived allowance of Moscow’s increasing influence. However, another power’s growing presence in the region is becoming evident as you explore this nation of 3.6 million nestled in the Caucasus Mountains. China has been intensifying its operations in recent years, constructing infrastructure and expanding trade routes to bolster its economy.

In central Georgia, Chinese workers are building a modern highway connecting the country’s east and west, while in the north, China Railway Tunnel Group is expanding an existing highway to Russia with a 5.5-mile tunnel through the mountains.

To the west, a Chinese company, China Communications Construction Company, is preparing to develop Georgia’s first deep-sea port on the Black Sea as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative.

The unnamed port project is at the heart of a debate about China’s growing influence in Georgia and the nation’s shift away from the West. This follows the project being taken from the Anaklia Development Consortium, a group of Georgian, European, and U.S. companies, and given to a Chinese company in May.

Salome Zourabichvili, a former Georgian president and vocal pro-Western opposition leader, criticized the decision as detrimental to relations with Western partners. The U.S. Department of State also expressed concerns about the project’s compatibility with Georgia’s aspirations to join U.S. and E.U. organizations.

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze argued that granting the port project to a Chinese company would ensure its implementation “at the highest level.” Some see Georgia’s pivot towards China as a strategic move considering the region’s geopolitics.

Dimtri Moniava, head of the Center for Strategic Communications in Tbilisi, noted that Georgia seeks to gain more from a strengthening China, which is enhancing its presence in the region.

Located in the deteriorated resort town of Anaklia, where abandoned hotels are now inhabited by stray dogs, the planned port is expected to revolutionize trade in the Caucasus. For Georgia, the port promises to be a regional transport hub.

For China, Anaklia serves as a gateway to the Caucasus, creating a link between Asia and Europe. This bypasses Russia, which faces Western sanctions due to the Ukraine conflict. Zhou Qian, China’s ambassador to Georgia, called Anaklia crucial for the ‘middle corridor’ connecting Europe and Asia.

China Communications Construction Company is expected to invest $600 million in the port’s first phase, with China owning 49 percent and Georgia holding the majority. The Russian port of Novorossiysk, hindered by Western sanctions, could also benefit from the new routes.

The rivalry between China and the U.S. is intensifying in the region, drawing in smaller countries like Georgia. The port’s placement at the crossroads of these two worlds illustrates the geopolitical tension.

Mamuka Khazaradze, the former head of the Anaklia Development Consortium, alleged that geopolitics influenced the government’s decision to cancel the consortium’s contract. He claims to have lost more than $40 million in the project and blames the governing Georgia Dream party, linked to oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, for the shift.

Giorgi Gakharia, the former Prime Minister who canceled the consortium’s contract, asserted that the decision was due to insufficient funding. He denies any pressure from Ivanishvili but now sides with the opposition.

Anaklia remains derelict, with plans for a Chinese-themed restaurant abandoned years ago. However, trucks are now carrying stones to construct a port breakwater, indicating that work may soon commence.

Jemal Kvartskhava, overseeing stone delivery for the port’s construction, expressed optimism regardless of who builds it, emphasizing the project’s positive impact on the country.