The World Bank foresees an overall increase in trade between China and the EU by about 30 percent by 2030, should there be suitable logistics and transport conditions. Nonetheless, the prognosis requires having a well-performing corridor to turn into reality. China and Europe are located on different ends of the world with whopping 9 thousand kilometres between them. Finding a new transport route to circulate goods between these two addresses has become a focal point for the entire world. Although the Middle Corridor is considered a favourite the World Bank experts see numerous challenges in operating it. How true are these claims and what can we do to eliminate the shortcomings?

We’ve recently been observing a steadily growing demand for a new route between China and Europe, but there were leaps at two stages that especially stood out. The first one happened as Russia had to face Western sanctions and the North Corridor closed down when the Ukraine war broke out. The sea routes had to shoulder the burden of goods traffic between the East and the West as a result. The second stage occurred as the Yemen Houthis got more involved in the Red Sea as military operations unfolded in Gaza. Their attacks on ships became a serious threat for the sea route through the Suez Canal, once again highlighting the urgent need for a reliable land route from China to Europe.

In fact, the options are not too abundant. The route called the Middle Corridor is the peerless option, which is exactly why cargo traffic along the MC grew by 33% in 2022 compared to 2021. For some reason though, recent discussions about it tend to highlight the problems along the corridor rather than its advantages.