DATA from the UTLC Eurasian Rail Alliance shows China to Europe rail freight volumes have fallen while the China-Russia trade has increased.

However, the end of 2023 the volume of goods transported by the Eurasian Railway was 674,000 TEU, which represented a decrease of 1.1 per cent year on year.

In 2022, this volume reached 681,000 TEU, according to data from UTLC Eurasian Rail Alliance (ERA), an alliance of national railways of Kazakhstan, Russia, and Belarus, representing 95 per cent of transport between China and Eurasia.

Last year brought about a marked fall in rail freight traffic between China and the European Union. The drop was as much as 49 per cent. In 2022, 410,600 TEU were transported in both directions between China and the EU, a figure that fell to 211,100 TEU last year.

The two most important routes in the relationship between China and the EU were the connection from China to Poland, and from Germany to China.

The former transported 117,600 TEU (34 per cent less year on year). As for the latter, volumes dropped 45 per cent year on year to 58,300 TEU.

Poland's strong position on the New Silk Road is also emphasised by the fact that three main routes to the EU from China to Ma?aszewicze.

In 2023, these were routes from Xi'an (44,500 TEU), Chengdu (28,800 TEU), and Chongqing (17,800 TEU), respectively.

As for the structure of goods transported between China and the EU in 2023, 18 per cent of the total volume was electronic. Communication equipment made up 14 per cent, machinery and electromechanical 12 per cent, and automotive and plastic products eight per cent each.