The Red Sea crisis has caused container shipping costs between China and Europe to increase dramatically. As a result, demand for China-Europe freight trains has increased by 100 percent since the outbreak of the Red Sea crisis.
The China-Europe freight train is an important channel for the transportation of goods between Asia and Europe, and an important platform for advancing the Belt and Road Initiative. The rising popularity of China-Europe freight trains shows the railway’s important value in stabilizing the international industry and supply chains under the impact of the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East.
According to incomplete statistics, at least 30 ships with a total gross tonnage of 1.9 million have been attacked in the Red Sea since November. Many cargo ships now detour around the Cape of Good Hope at the southwestern tip of Africa, resulting in increased shipping days and shipping costs.
After the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out, the rail link suffered a downturn. But the Red Sea crisis highlights the importance of China-Europe freight trains. The operation of China-Europe freight trains has recovered to half of what it was before the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
China-Europe trains and shipping routes from China to Europe do not compete with, but complement each other. The growing popularity of China-Europe freight trains is a reminder of the need to further smooth import and export channels and maintain global supply chains.
For example, relevant parties should speed up the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway. The construction of the railway, an important part of the southern passage of the western route of the China-Europe freight railway line, finally kicked off last year after 25 years of suspension. Speeding up its construction to make it complementary to the railway artillery through Siberia at an early date can effectively reduce the impacts of the Red Sea crisis on international shipping routes so as to better steady the logistics between China and Europe.
Source: China Daily