The transport of cargo from China to Europe by sea is likely to remain more important than Eurasian railway routes, says the CEO of the German forwarder DACHSER.
COSCO Shipping International (Singapore), a logistics-focused arm of COSCO, reports a big hit to its third quarter profit after tax. But the company nonetheless has big regional expansion plans.
The Chinese city of Yiwu has announced a new freight train route to Belgium’s Liege, with trains expected to finish the journey in about 20 days.
Several intermodal containers on trains running between China to Europe run empty due to lack of exporter demand for capacity.
The Chinese Belt and Road Initiative aims to create seamless freight movement between Europe and Asia, but the sustainability aspect of the project is still unclear.
Concerns are arising in the EU about the West’s waning influence in Eastern Europe as rampant Chinese investment increases, including the $1 trillion One Belt, One Road project to streamline trade.
While the Chinese economy went from marginal to the global leader in trade in just 40 years, its political position was primarily quiet. Now China’s participation is paramount to global peace and development.
