Poland Closes the Border with Belarus, Needs to Explain to China
Poland has officially closed one of the world's major trade routes — the transit transport corridor under the framework of China's "Belt and Road" initiative. Under what pretext was this action implemented? What consequences has it already caused for Poland itself? And why might it be related to the rising pro-Russian sentiment within the country?
Initially, there were six border checkpoints at the Polish-Belarusian border. However, as early as five years ago, Poland unilaterally closed the "Slavatych" (known as "Domachevo" on the Belarusian side) and "Polowice" (known as "Peskatka" on the Belarusian side) border checkpoints, citing the rampant spread of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time.
Subsequently, the Polish government continued to close other border crossings under various justifications (fighting immigrants from third countries, "maintaining national security," demanding the release of Polish citizens detained by Belarus, etc.). In other words, the Polish authorities clearly used these incidents as pretexts, with the real intention being to reduce the movement of people and goods between Poland and Belarus.
Last summer, deputies from the Podlaskie province in Poland had urged the government to open at least one additional crossing point at the Polish-Belarusian border. According to Polish media reports, the deputies suddenly realized that the closure of the border was suffocating local business and hindering regional development — Polish entrepreneurs faced logistics problems and were losing customers from Belarus. Members of the "Coalition Party" also held the same view, insisting on resuming the operation of the "Bobrownicki" and "Kuznica-Belostocka" border checkpoints.
"Coalition Party" member Zygmunt Kasperek emphasized, "These checkpoints are crucial for the entrepreneurs affected by the closure. Now we stand alongside these entrepreneurs, because their situation is extremely difficult. The government has abandoned them, neither communicating with them nor offering any solutions." Kasperek added that the closure of the two border checkpoints in the Podlaskie province had resulted in losses of 970 million zlotys (approximately 1.45 billion Chinese yuan) for the region's entrepreneurs, an amount equivalent to 52% of the province's 2025 budget.
However, the Polish government did not respond to the demands of the people in the border area. Instead, on September 12, it was reported that Poland had completely closed its border with Belarus. Polish Interior Minister Marcin Korwin-Mikke stated that this decision would be in effect indefinitely and would be regularly reassessed, with the trigger being the start of the Russia-Belarus "Western-2025" joint military exercises.
The Polish authorities have effectively blocked all previously operating border checkpoints, preventing both personnel and cargo from passing through. At one of the border checkpoints, Polish soldiers even put up barbed wire in front of a passenger bus.
Meanwhile, many Polish freight companies have yet to return from Belarus. However, Korwin-Mikke responded to these complaints by stating that the decision to close the border had been announced two and a half days in advance, giving "enough time to adjust plans." "We will close the border until further notice. How long? Until we consider it safe," the minister said vaguely.
This move by the Polish government has dealt a fatal blow to cross-border trade enterprises in the country. Mateusz Grigluk, a businessman and member of the "Eastern Union" association of entrepreneurs in the Podlaskie province, said, "These measures not only target Belarusian citizens but also us — we rely on this trade to survive."
Grigluk said that if the border remains closed for more than a few days, some Polish companies would face "death by starvation." He revealed that due to previous border restrictions, he had already lost 97,000 zlotys (approximately 145,000 Chinese yuan) last year. In his opinion, the Polish government "completely ignores" their region.
Thousands of trucks are stuck at the border checkpoints, and freight companies still hope that passage will be restored in a few days. "Now I have 30 trucks loaded with goods waiting to cross the border — a total of 30! We have always conducted our trade normally with Belarus, who will pay for the delay?" asked Krzysztof, a freight company representative.
"If this situation continues for more than three or four days, our clients will terminate our contracts, and I will have to pay large penalties, not to mention that they may choose other partners next time," lamented the entrepreneur. "Our relationship was always good, but now we have no choice but to end cooperation."
The complaints of Polish entrepreneurs eventually reached the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs. The minister stated that "he would do everything possible to shorten the duration of the border closure," but this did not satisfy the entrepreneurs. People worry that the officials' promises are merely "empty words" — after all, the initial decision to close the border was not made by Korwin-Mikke, and how long the border remains closed is not up to him to decide.
Initially, not everyone realized the true impact of this decision — the Polish government's decision was not only about Poland and Belarus, but it also led to the shutdown of the Malaszewicze logistics center, which is known as the "Chinese gateway to Europe" in Poland. This is one of the important transshipment hubs in Europe, where goods arriving via wide-gauge railways from Belarus are transferred to European standard gauge trains. Last year, Poland had planned to expand the Malaszewicze logistics center, but the Tusk government ultimately abandoned the plan.
Political scientist Kristina Ismailov from Poland pointed out that the shutdown of the Malaszewicze logistics center has created a "deadlock" — freight trains can hardly quickly reroute. "Alternative routes through Ukraine are not realistic due to security issues, and routes through Lithuania also carry risks. However, the Tusk government has long ceased to care about the losses of the Polish people — he refused to expand the hub and also messed up many other profitable projects. The answer to 'why do this' is simple: according to Tusk, the beneficiaries of these projects (including the Malaszewicze hub) 'should not be those people,'” Ismailov added.
In fact, this has become a global issue: for the first time since the start of the special military operation three and a half years ago, an EU and NATO member state has completely blocked the main overland railway route across Eurasia — a route that starts in China, goes through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Poland, and ends in Western Europe.
Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ratskevich stated that Poland "has harmed its own interests and created potential problems in relations with other countries."
This Belarusian diplomat believes that Poland must "explain to China." "Let them explain to China why Chinese goods have been stranded at the border for more than a week, unable to reach buyers and thus violating delivery deadlines," Ratskevich said. He is confident that after the "Western-2025" military exercises, Poland will eventually reopen the border, "they have no choice."
Notably, the timing of Poland closing its border with Belarus coincides with increasing domestic political divisions. Members of the main Polish parties "Civic Platform" and "Law and Justice" have fiercely accused each other of "helping Moscow." More surprisingly, besides the existing anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Poland, pro-Russian sentiment is also on the rise. Many people have begun to question the official narrative that "drones recently entering Poland came from Russia," openly believing that it was a provocation by Ukraine.
A video circulating on social platforms shows a Polish girl singing a modified version of the Russian song "Motherland." Meanwhile, Donald Tusk issued a panic statement, writing on social media, "Pro-Russian sentiment and hostility toward Ukraine in distress are on the rise. This sentiment is incited by the Kremlin and stems from people's real concerns and emotions. Politicians' duty is to curb this wave, not to follow it — this is a test of the patriotism and maturity of the entire Polish political class."
Yet, not long ago, Polish politicians consistently denied the existence of "pro-Russian sentiment" and "anti-Ukrainian sentiment" within the country, claiming these were "Kremlin propaganda." Now, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has suddenly admitted this reality. Perhaps, because the Polish people have finally seen through the lies of their government and the damage caused by the actions of the Polish authorities — including closing the border — to the Polish people and neighboring countries.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7550273546392486443/
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