The Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian Corridor) is a concept for a new Pan-Eurasian transportation system promoted by China, in cooperation with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and other countries, to move cargo and passengers overland from China to European countries. Since Beijing’s ultimate goal is to reach European markets, the Caucasus is an important part of this transportation system. Through Central Asia, goods have to get to Caucasian ports and from there to Europe. All this is happening in the context of China’s “One Belt, One Road” project.
It should be noted that the Trans-Caspian Corridor is a multimodal route, which involves 2 types of transport – rail and sea. Before the war, 8 countries were participants of the route: China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Romania, Ukraine and Poland. This corridor has become a popular alternative to the main route through Russia and Belarus. While in the first quarter of 2021 less than 16,000 containers passed through it, 19,500 were registered in the first quarter of 2022.
However, the importance of this route is only growing and the route is still developing. Azerbaijan and Georgia are actively participating in this transportation corridor. Cargo from China to the Georgian port of Poti took a new route via Azerbaijan. A new international freight train route was opened between Xi’an, Shaanxi Province in northwest China, and Poti, a port city in Georgia, marking the establishment of the 18th major route served by the China-Europe freight train [1].
The cargo crossed Kazakhstan, was loaded on a ferry through the port of Aktau, Kazakhstan, to Baku, Azerbaijan, and finally arrived in Poti, Georgia, by rail. The entire line uses the multimodal mode of transport “rail-sea-rail” with a transport distance of 7,829 kilometers and a transport time of about 15 days. In this way, goods are delivered quite quickly and at low cost.
This route gained special importance in 2023, cargo flows between China and Europe increased by more than 80% compared to the same period of the previous year [2]. This can be attributed to the EU sanctions policy and the search for new routes for cargo transportation between Asia and Europe. It is obvious that the middle corridor opens new opportunities for the world markets, this is confirmed by the participation of countries in the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum, which was attended by about 1.2 thousand participants from 60 countries and was organized under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Georgia.
However, it is worth noting that the Middle Corridor is still developing. Before the war in Ukraine, the corridor’s share was 3-5%, while the main Kazakhstan-Russia-Belarus route accounted for the bulk of traffic. But part of this transit is now being shifted to the Trans-Caspian corridor. For example, automobile manufacturers are gradually reorienting to it. In particular, Audi has already announced that it uses trucking and sea transportation along the Middle Corridor through Romania.
Also, the Finnish state-owned railway company VR Group decided early last month to phase out rail freight transportation between Finland and Russia. This will also have implications for private companies, for whom cooperation with the Trans-Caspian route carriers is becoming a valuable alternative to the route through Russia.[3] However, of course, as it develops, it is necessary to modernize the infrastructure, for example, to adapt the corridor for the transportation of large volumes of cargo, as well as the modernization of the Romanian port infrastructure.
Nevertheless, to summarize, the Midway or Trans-Caspian corridor will develop and be of increasing value for global trade, as many companies (especially from the EU) are interested in developing different logistic routes for trade with China, especially against the background of the Red Sea crisis and sanctions policy towards Russia. Therefore, it can be predicted that this corridor will play an increasingly important role in the global economy, but in order to take a leading position it requires greater investment in infrastructure and greater interaction between large companies.
[1] “New China-Europe freight train route links Xi’an Poti”, China Daily, https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202401/20/WS65ab8ce3a3105f21a507d667.html, (Date of Accession: 20.01.2024).
[2] “Powering the transcontinental Middle Corridor”, IRU, https://www.iru.org/news-resources/newsroom/powering-transcontinental-middle-corridor, (Date of Accession: 31.10.2023).
[3] “Trans-Caspian route on the rise: How War is Changing China-Europe Rail Logistics”, CTS, https://en.cfts.org.ua/, (Date of Accession: 02.05.2022).
