The New Silk Road, referred to by some as the largest infrastructure project in history, was the topic of discussion at the Europe-Ukraine Forum in Rzeszów under the patronage of BiznesAlert.pl. According to the minister of infrastructure, the initiative makes sense in so far as it improves the transport integration of our region.
– Trade and goods exchange between Poland and China, between China and Europe, has already taken place. It is now a reality – said Minister of Infrastructure Andrzej Adamczyk. – In 2016, we accepted the first train from China with the participation of presidents Xi Jinping and Andrzej Duda. It arrived proudly at the PKP Cargo station in Warsaw. The line has been opened, and the trains run and carry goods.
– We can say that the element of the New Silk Road is a reality, but it is also cooperation outside the transport routes. They are also large logistics centers, reloading ports. In Poland, there are over 30 of them, but concepts of reconstruction and development are constantly being developed using the existing potential of transhipment ports that we have – indicated the minister.
Adamczyk referred to the idea of combining China by Russia and Belarus. – You can not, however, not mention the routes through Ukraine. It is not about competition with Belarus, because everyone will cut their piece of pie – he said. He reminded that the Trans-Caspian route running through China, Kazakhstan, the Caspian region, the Black Sea, Ukraine and Poland already exists.
– Many concepts of the One Belt and the Road are perceived as an investment of China and a great capital that can be used. I have a different opinion. It is important to engage the Chinese side, but the most important thing is to create communication corridors running through Asian countries, which will allow intermodal transport of goods. These trails will be a leash for it. That is the point in all this – summed up the minister. In his opinion, the investments of the New Silk Road may in the future serve better transport integration of Poland and Ukraine, not only China.
The new Silk Road through Russia was up to 2014, then it turned out that he should avoid it – Y. Bolzhelarskyi, Director of the Lviv Branch of the Dnepropetrovsk National Railway Transport University, Ukraine.