Hong Kong Maritime Week focused on developing rail links under the Belt and Road Initiative. Experts from China, Kazakhstan, and the OECD discussed the status and prospects of rail corridors, including routes to Małaszewicze in Poland. At the Asian Logistics, Maritime, and Aviation Conference panel, industry representatives noted that Central Asia is becoming an important hub, shaping future trade routes between East and West.
According to Grégory Lecomte, OECD Director for Central Asia, over the past 14 years, regional trade has quadrupled, exports have doubled, and rail infrastructure has undergone a “civilizational leap.” Investments in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and the emergence of new intermodal terminals have accelerated the development of the China-Poland corridor. Timur Ivanov, CEO of PTC Shanghai, emphasized that train delivery times to Europe have been reduced to 8-12 days thanks to the digitalization of documents, the automation of border crossings, and the expansion of transshipment capacities on the border between Kazakhstan and China.
Experts also noted that further improvement of the New Silk Road will require the development of cargo and digital infrastructure in Central Asia. Representatives of QazTrade and Shyngar Trans emphasized the need to create a fully digital Eurasian corridor and proposed introducing a single “mini-Schengen for logistics” that would unify procedures and expedite transit throughout the region.