Less than 48 hours after China opened the new route, Poland really regretted it: it ordered the China-Europe train to be released as soon as possible.
President of Poland Navalnyj
Why can the opening of China's new Arctic route allow Poland to change its border policy in less than 48 hours?
Poland's previous closure of the border with Belarus has caused the shutdown of the China-European line, and what direct impact will the emergency release have on China-European trade?
To answer these questions, we need to look for answers from the intersection of two key event lines.
On September 23, China officially announced the opening of the world's first Arctic container high-speed route connecting China and Europe.The first flight of the ship "Istanbul Bridge" was launched from Ningbo Mountains port, the destination is the port of Flixstown in Britain.
The most remarkable advantage of this route is its timing —— It takes only 18 days.Compared with the land transportation routes commonly used by traditional China-Europe freight trains, it not only shortens the time by nearly half, but also reduces carbon emissions by about 15%.
Poland is currently in trouble with the decision to close its borders.
China opens new route in Arctic waterway
Just two weeks before China's opening of the new Arctic route, Poland on September 12 closed all roads and railway ports between Belarus and Russia on the basis of joint Russian-Belarus exercises and drone violations of the border.
This initiative directly cut off important channels in the Central European line, and a large number of goods instantly stuck.
According to data from the European Union’s Supply Chain Monitoring Centre, only a week after the border closure, the 25 billion euros of goods that depend on land routes in China and Europe’s trade will be frozen.
Poland is also concerned that the city of Rhodes as an important hub city in Central Europe, the storage rate of local logistics parks has exploded to 95%, a large number of stalled goods occupy storage resources, leading to newly arrived goods stored nowhere, and many logistics companies have begun to refuse to receive new orders.
The Polish government is not unaware of the cost of border closure, and the turning point came after the opening of China's new Arctic shipping route.
On September 23rd, the news of the launch of this route quickly spread in the European logistics circle. Important European ports such as Duisburg Port in Germany and Rotterdam Port in the Netherlands paid close attention to the operation of the Arctic route, and will not rule out cooperation with China to open more Arctic route frequency in the future.
Central European Group
This put Poland under unprecedented pressure. If Poland continues to close its borders and block the Central European line, Chinese and European companies are likely to shift more cargo to the Arctic route, while Poland’s position as a Central European land logistics hub will be severely weakened.
Once these goods are diverted to Arctic routes, Poland will not only lose considerable transit fee revenue, but may also face the risk of layoffs in logistics companies and the decline of related industries.
These concerns reached their peak on September 23. After urgent consultations within the Polish government, Prime Minister Tusk announced on the same day:"The border ports with Belarus will be reopened at midnight on 24 local time to ensure normal passage of the Central European line."
But at the same time, he also threatened that it would still be possible to use the trick again in the future, warning that“When tensions escalate, Poland will not hesitate to continue to use this tool.”
It's just that Poland's warnings and threats have little weight to us.
China gives China-EU trade more logistics options
The opening of a new Arctic route from China to Poland announced the reopening of the border, less than 48 hours apart.
Poland’s “repentance” is not a coincidence, but an inevitable choice in the interests of reality.
The opening of China's new Arctic route has given more logistics options for China-European trade, and Poland, which had previously relied on "exclusive channels", has lost the power of bargaining.
For example, some of the European warehouses originally transited mainly through Poland, after the route was opened, have begun to test the shipment through the Arctic route to the UK, and then distributed through the British land route to European countries.
This adjustment is not only as timely as that of the Polish channel, but also reduces the risks caused by the policy changes of a single country.
For China-Europe trade, Poland's reopening of the border is undoubtedly good news. The China-Europe train, which has been stagnant for many days, will finally resume traffic.
Polish President meets with Foreign Minister
But what is more noteworthy is that the "dual-channel" pattern formed by the new Arctic routes and China-Europe trains is injecting new stability into China-Europe trade.
Enterprises in the future can flexibly choose transport channels based on timely demand for goods, cost budgets and geographic risks, which is the key to fighting trade uncertainty.
From Poland’s policy shift, we can clearly see China’s increased infrastructure and logistics capabilities, bringing global influence.
The opening of a new route not only shortens the geographical distance, but also breaks the balance of interests under the traditional logistics pattern, forcing more countries to consider China factors when formulating policies.
China-EU Relations
For China-Europe trade, this “multi-options” pattern may be an important guarantee for sustainable and stable development in the future.