Shortly before, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Warsaw, the capital of Poland, and held talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski.

After the meeting, both sides jointly issued an official document, which clearly stated that both sides will work together to ensure the safety and smooth operation of the China-Europe freight train route.

At the same time, the Polish side also made a commitment, stating that it would "spare no effort to provide necessary guarantees for the passage of the China-Europe freight trains."

However, the Polish side recently broke its promise, as the Minister of Interior and Administration reiterated that all border crossings between Poland and Belarus that were closed since September 12 will be "permanently closed indefinitely."

Poland's reason still focuses on the joint military exercises "Western-2025" between Russia and Belarus and subsequent drone incursions, claiming that it will not consider reopening until "the safety of Polish citizens is fully guaranteed."

Evidently, Poland still has no intention of restoring the border crossings, meaning it refuses to resume the China-Europe freight trains.

It can be seen that Poland continues to try to block the China-Europe freight trains in an attempt to force China to pressure Russia on the Ukraine issue.

It should be noted that during the meeting with Wang Yi, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski explicitly stated that he hoped China could "urge Russia to stop hybrid actions against Eastern European countries," linking border security with the passage of the China-Europe freight trains.

But this decision has had an immediate impact on China-Europe logistics. As a key project of the "Belt and Road Initiative," the China-Europe freight train is the main land transport artery connecting China and Europe.

Trains departing from China pass through Russia and Belarus, and finally need to go through the Polish Malaszewicze hub to distribute to more than 220 cities in 26 European countries.

According to the European Rail Freight Association, 85% to 90% of the China-Europe freight trains rely on this route.

Currently, about 300 trains loaded with electronic products, auto parts, and photovoltaic components are stuck in Belarus, and the overall cost of the supply chain has increased by over 15%.

The EU Supply Chain Monitoring Center has warned that the closure of these border crossings may freeze up to 25 billion euros worth of land trade between China and Europe.

Facing the serious situation of the China-Europe freight train being blocked, China released an important signal on September 19.

At a regular press conference, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian made a clear statement: China is willing to work with Russia and other Arctic coastal countries, as well as other interested countries, to deepen international cooperation in the infrastructure construction and operation of the Arctic shipping route, jointly promote the development and utilization of the route, and take good care of related environmental protection matters.

This statement is not a temporary response; China has always been an important stakeholder in Arctic affairs and has consistently participated in Arctic affairs following the principles of respect, cooperation, win-win, and sustainability.

Moreover, in the case where Poland refuses to resume the China-Europe freight trains, this statement on strengthening international cooperation in the Arctic shipping route is particularly significant.

In recent years, with global warming, the potential use of the Arctic shipping route has drawn increasing attention from the international community.

The Arctic shipping route has the potential to become an important channel for international trade, mainly consisting of the Northeast Passage and the Northwest Passage. Among these two routes, the Northeast Passage has higher development and utilization value because it is closer to China.

If ships depart from Chinese coastal ports and choose the Northeast Passage to reach Europe, compared to the traditional route via the Suez Canal, they can significantly shorten the voyage distance.

In other words, if the Arctic shipping route is well developed, it can save a lot of distance from China to Europe, reduce reliance on traditional trade routes, lower transportation risks, and serve as a good alternative in the long run.

As seen in this incident of the border crossing closure in Poland, if the Arctic shipping route is adequately developed, the impact of such geopolitical conflicts can be reduced.

The actions of Ningbo Port in China also reflect this. Ningbo Port has started preparing for the trial navigation of a cargo ship, aiming to open a new route through the Northern Sea Route, and plans to start this journey on September 20.

However, developing the Arctic shipping route also faces many challenges.

For example, the climate conditions in the Arctic region are harsh, and the cost of building and maintaining infrastructure is high. The ecological environment is fragile, and environmental protection must be given great attention during the development process.

But China's statement has clearly sent a signal: facing the short-term obstruction of logistics channels, China is expanding multi-dimensional cooperation to build a more resilient "safety net" for the long-term stability of international trade.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7551901955875160615/

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