Strategic U.S. Interests in the Digital Middle Corridor

The Middle Corridor has evolved from an alternative route on a map into one of the key arteries of Eurasian trade — and simultaneously into a new arena of geopolitical competition. But the Middle Corridor is no longer just about rails, ports, and ferries. It is increasingly a digital system for managing transit: registries, electronic documentation systems, port community systems, digital customs procedures, and data exchange among carriers, agents, terminals, and regulators.

Western countries cannot afford to cede the digital component of the Middle Corridor to a geopolitical rival. If Europe and the United States want to receive Central Asian critical resources reliably and predictably, they need to care not only about railroads and raw material contracts but also about the security and transparency of the transport-digital framework through which these flows move. How can the U.S. ensure the Middle Corridor becomes a digital bridge controlled by trusted standards rather than another Chinese-controlled chokepoint?

On March 3, 2026, the Center for the National Interest, in partnership with StrategEast, hosted a panel of experts on the region:

—Stephen Benson is President of Laser Light Federal LLC, a subsidiary of the global telecom company Laser Light Communications.

—Arkadiy Dobkin is Principal Founder and Executive Chairman of EPAM Systems, Inc., a leading digital transformation services and product engineering company.

—Anatoly Motkin is Founder and President of StrategEast, an independent non-profit institution developing Eurasia’s digital economy.

Andrew Kuchins, a Senior Fellow at the Center for the National Interest, moderated the discussion.

Read StrategEast’s latest report: “The Middle Corridor: Where Trade Routes Meet Digital Control“