Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative changed where many ports, rail lines, and logistics hubs were built, and it still influences routing options for goods moving between Asia and Europe. Xi Jinping proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt in Astana in September 2013 and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road in Jakarta in October 2013; the program was first called One Belt, One Road. Chinese lenders and companies went on to fund terminals and rail corridors in many countries, supporting the growth of China-Europe freight trains. For importers, the effect is mostly indirect: more route options and port capacity, alongside concentrated ownership of key infrastructure.

• Intermodal FreightFreight moved by rail and truck in one box

• China-Europe Railway Express2011 · Scheduled freight trains run from China to Europe
• Silk Road2nd century BCE to 15th century · Overland trade routes link China with the Mediterranean
• Trans-Siberian Railway1891–1916 · The longest railway line links Moscow and Vladivostok

• Bern Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Rail (CIM)1890, in force 1893, now COTIF 1999 · Treaty on rail freight contracts and liability
• Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)2020, in force 2022 · Asia-Pacific trade pact covering 15 economies

1. Introduction: the speech and plan (Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society) academic.oup.com
2. Xi Jinping and the B&R Initiative (Belt and Road Portal) eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn