土中货运列车——土中合作新起点

中欧班列是欧亚铁路运输发展的重要标志。新冠肺炎疫情期间，由于空运和海运受限，铁路运输在稳定全球供应链物流和维持欧亚大陆互联互通方面发挥着重要作用。中欧班列是共建“一带一路”倡议的重要组成部分，土方自始至终都表示大力支持，过去十年里，中欧班列取得了显著成就，未来发展势头良好。

建设交通一体化走廊  推广多式联运

土耳其拥有着独一无二的地理位置，历史上便充当着连接欧洲和亚洲的作用，“丝绸之路”、“香料之路”等区域间贸易路线便是很好的例证。土耳其位于欧洲、亚洲和中东的交界地带，地理位置优越，是地区交通要塞，近些年作为交通枢纽的影响力越发显著。

在土耳其总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安的领导下，土耳其的高速公路、机场、港口、高速铁路等大型基础设施项目为实现欧亚互联互通做出了重要贡献。伊斯坦布尔新机场是世界上规模最大的机场之一，每年可容纳乘客2亿人次。土方正在建设埃迪尔内－卡尔斯高速铁路，从中国到中亚再到欧洲的交通从而可以变得速度更快、成本更低。横跨博斯普鲁斯海峡的亚武兹·苏坦·斯莱姆桥、欧亚大陆海底隧道、马尔马拉海底隧道和横跨伊兹米特湾的奥斯曼加济大桥以及其他物流中心与通讯基础设施都属于土耳其综合交通网络的一部分。随着2022年年初达达尼尔海峡恰纳卡莱1915大桥的竣工，亚洲和欧洲间便有多种交通方式来保证互联互通，并使互联互通的效率相比过去增加六倍。

土耳其正在加大力度修建高速铁路，预计到2023年增修5500公里。土耳其是世界上第八个拥有高铁的国家，目前安卡拉、埃斯基谢希尔和科尼亚三个城市之间有高铁，安卡拉到伊斯坦布尔间的高铁很快就要建成。土耳其同时也在修建物流中心，以充分利用铁路运载货物的优势。

土耳其建设交通一体化走廊的主要目标是服务于共建现代丝绸之路，发展可靠的交通备用路线，推广多式联运（特别是在跨里海贸易运输走廊上），推动交通基础设施改造升级，消除跨境运输瓶颈，简化通关手续，清除行政审批壁垒，提高物流、走廊管理能力，与中转国家加强协调合作。

土耳其很多超大型工程建设项目都是由中方投资建设的，还有更多的项目正在筹划中。许多交通、物流、能源、贸易等领域的项目开始进入交付阶段，为古老的丝绸之路注入了新活力。未来土耳其的地理位置优势将会更加突出。这些项目将融合进跨里海贸易运输走廊（下文简称中间走廊）项目中，从而打造出一条性价比高且安全的亚欧交通路线。

中欧班列——国际交通发展新成果

中欧班列也受惠于土耳其铁路、设施和相关服务的建设与换代升级。2020年12月中欧班列（中国—土耳其）的开通是土耳其交通发展的最新成果，将土耳其交通向前推进了一大步。该列车通过巴库—第比利斯—卡尔斯跨国铁路与中间走廊相接，总长约为8700公里，途径两个大洲、两片海域、五个国家，货物从伊斯坦布尔到西安仅需不到两周。当两地凿空的遥远梦想成为现实之后，更多的货运列车紧随其后。土中正计划为两地货运列车制定周次列车时刻表，未来将有更多列车更加频繁地往返于土中两地。

西安市作为古丝绸之路的起点和中国古都，见证了古代土耳其人、中国人及其他民族的商贸往来和人文交流。两国先祖深谙安全稳定的交通路线对于经济活动的重要性，古丝绸之路得以应运而生，以促进亚洲和欧洲间的货物交易。如今，在经历了数个世纪的风风雨雨后，土中重新踏上了这条路。可以说，我们正在利用科技和现代化带来的机遇，共同建设现代丝绸之路。

中间走廊为中欧班列提供更高效的通道

我想简单介绍一下土耳其跨里海东西贸易运输走廊的进展，并就该项目对于欧亚互联互通的重要性发表我的浅见：

首先，全球经济重心向东方的转移为亚洲和欧洲间的货物运输注入了持续的动力，疫情使这种势头不降反增。一个很好的例证便是，2020年土耳其和中国的双边贸易额达260亿美元，是欧洲与亚洲国家间双边贸易额的最好水平之一，然而随着土中两国贸易、金融和投资往来的增加，未来双边贸易额有望突破500亿美元。

值得注意的是，土耳其和中国间的铁路互联将加速欧亚大陆的经济活动，从而强化两国的双边经济关系。通过货运列车，土耳其和中国生产的产品将会更加便捷地运往彼此的市场。土耳其的品牌和产品质量拥有良好口碑，在全球许多国家销路畅通，这些产品将更加频繁地出现在中国的货架上。此外，土耳其商家也将加盟中国的电子商务平台，探索产品的线上销售途径。土方鼓励土中企业家利用好中欧班列为两国商贸发展带来的新机遇。

其次，土耳其拥有8400万人口，不仅是区域贸易枢纽，还是沟通三个大洲的桥梁，能够辐射巴尔干、高加索、中亚、中东和北非市场。土耳其与欧盟签订的关税同盟协定使土耳其产品能够进入欧盟市场，土耳其与28个国家签订了自贸协定，意味着土耳其能够接触到10亿消费人群。

第三，中间走廊落地实施所需要的最关键的基础设施已经竣工。巴库—第比利斯—卡尔斯跨国铁路总长840公里，于2017年投入使用。从北京途径里海和博斯普鲁斯海峡最终抵达伦敦的直达铁路线正式建成，2019年11月通车。巴库—第比利斯—卡尔斯跨国铁路每年可容纳100万名乘客和650万吨货物，2034年可容纳乘客数量和货物数量将分别增长至300万名和1700万吨。近期，巴库—第比利斯—卡尔斯跨国铁路的货物运输量增长迅猛，2017年仅为4000吨，2020年疫情期间从19.5万吨增长到接近40万吨，2021年仅第一个季度便达到了10.6万吨。

第四，中间走廊能带来清晰可见的未来机遇。中间走廊是北部、南部路线以外的另一线路，能够优化完善共建“一带一路”倡议框架下的中国—中亚—西亚经济走廊。中间走廊为中欧班列提供了现有线路以外的一条备选物流渠道，增强了交通运输的安全性。2021年3月苏伊士运河堵塞事件再一次证实了开拓多条物流渠道的重要性。共建“一带一路”倡议背后的逻辑之一便是广泛开拓交通路径，中间走廊两端连接亚欧，与共建“一带一路”倡议的设立初衷相吻合。中间走廊为抵达巴尔干半岛、西欧、北欧提供了一条更快、更短的通道。此外，中间走廊冬季的气候条件有利于输送非耐用品和农产品。

土耳其总统埃尔多安和中国国家主席习近平都表达了加强土中合作的强大政治决心。土耳其是最早支持共建“一带一路”倡议的国家，跨里海贸易运输走廊倡议与共建“一带一路”倡议有较高的互补性。2015年，土耳其和中国签署了政府间共同推进“一带一路”建设谅解备忘录。在建设交通走廊、深化欧亚大陆区域经济合作方面，土中可以实现进一步的利益融合。土耳其和中国的相关部门计划就深化合作举办高级别会议。

随着亚洲的崛起和互联互通项目的开展，全球正在经历一场大转型。土中在交通和物流领域深化合作将促进整个欧亚地区的繁荣和稳定。目前，两国的务实合作已取得了显著成果，近期土中之间中欧班列的开通便是一个成功例证。未来，随着土中合作持续深化，两国必将会迎来更加广阔的合作机遇和更加璀璨的明天！

编辑 | 张   梅

翻译 | 齐晓彤

设计 | 大   米

The
China-Europe Railway Express marks a significant phase towards Eurasian
rail transportation. The railway connection between two continents
became even more vital in the pandemic era when the freight trains
played a crucial role in stabilizing the international logistics supply
chain, due to limited air and maritime transport options. As part of the
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which Turkey supports from the
beginning, this route has experienced a remarkable progress for the past
10 years and will continue its development. 

Turkey,
thanks to her unique geographical location, historically played a
significant role in connecting Europe and Asia. It is manifested with
the well-known Silk Road, and other cross-regional trade routes such as
the Spice Road. Turkey’s strategic position at the intersection of
Europe, Asia and the Middle East still paves the way for her role as the
“regional transportation hub”, which has gained a noticeable momentum
in recent years. 

Under
the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, massive
infrastructure projects in Turkey, including highways, air and sea ports
and high speed railways have greatly contributed to achieving Eurasian
connectivity. For instance, the new airport in Istanbul, one of the
world’s biggest, has the capacity to accommodate 200 million passengers
annually. Moreover, we are constructing the Edirne-Kars High Speed
Network which will enable faster and cheaper transport from China and
Central Asia to Europe. The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge over the
Bosphorus, the Eurasia Tunnel and Marmaray, the Orhan Gazi Bridge over
the Gulf of Izmit, logistics hubs and communication infrastructures are
parts of this hybrid transportation network. With the completion of the
1915 Bridge over the Dardanelles in early 2022, Asia and Europe are will
be connected six times through different means of transportation. 

There
is now a special focus on transforming high-speed rail (HSR) in the
country, with the goal of constructing an additional 5,500 km of HSR and
rapid lines by 2023. Turkey is the 8th HSR operating country in the
world and the HSR lines between major cities (Ankara-Eskişehir-Konya)
are operational and others (Ankara-İstanbul) are soon to be completed.
With the aim to take advantage of the railways in carrying goods and
products as well, various logistics centers are being constructed across
the country. 

Overall,
Turkey’s regional integrated transport corridors perspective focuses
on: building a modern Silk Road with dependable and viable alternative
routes, promoting intermodal transport opportunities particularly on the
Trans-Caspian East-West Middle Corridor (MC), upgrading/development of
transport infrastructure, removing bottlenecks especially on border
crossings, simplification of procedures and removing administrative
barriers, enhancing logistics and corridor management capacities, and
finally achieving cooperation and coordination with the transit
countries. 

As
briefly mentioned above, some of these recent mega-construction
projects in Turkey are materialized with Chinese investment, and more
are being planned. Turkey has already started delivering on concrete
projects in the fields of transportation, logistics, energy and trade
for reviving the ancient Silk Road. Further developments in this regard
will make Turkey’s geographic advantage also more visible. All of these
projects initiated by Turkey will be readily integrated into the MC,
which will constitute a cost effective and secure route from Asia to
Europe.

The
China-Europe Railway Express has also benefited from this ongoing
construction and improvement of railways, facilities and its services.
The initiation of a direct freight train services between Turkey and
China in December 2020 is the most recent and substantial example of
this development. The train followed the MC via Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK)
railway. Its route covers almost 8,700 kilometers, passing through two
continents, two seas, five countries and forwarding its freight from
Istanbul to Xi’an in less than two weeks. In short, “once a distant
dream” finally became possible. More trains followed the first one in
recent months and there are plans to make a regular and more frequent
weekly schedule of freight trains between Turkey and China. 

Xi’an,
as the eastern end to the Silk Road and former capital of China, was
once the meeting and melting point of ancient Turks and Chinese, as well
as of many others, for social and commercial interactions. Our
ancestors were well aware of the importance of safe and stable transport
routes for enhancing economic activities. That is why they created a
Road that enabled the transportation of goods between Asia and Europe.
Today, after many centuries, we again follow their path. We are building
a modern Silk Road, with the opportunities provided by technology and
modernization.

I
would like to briefly point out the developments and provide some
highlights on Turkey’s MC Initiative that is expected to play a bigger
role in Eurasian connectivity as a reliable alternative option among
others for the following reasons:
First of all, the shift of
economic gravity towards the East generates a continuous growth in the
transport of goods between Asia and Europe. The pandemic did not alter
this trend; it has even strengthened it. For instance, bilateral trade
volume between Turkey and China has reached 26 billion USD in 2020. It
is one of highest figures of any bilateral commerce between European and
Asian countries. Moreover, ongoing commercial, financial and investment
contacts between Turkey and China points that it is very possible to
surpass 50 billion USD in the upcoming years.  

It
should also be noted that the further use of the railway connection
between Turkey and China will accelerate economic activities across
Eurasia and this in return will be beneficial for our bilateral economic
relations. Turkish and Chinese products will be more easily delivered
through the freight trains. Highly qualified Turkish brands and
products, which are well sought-after in many parts of the world, will
become more available in the vast Chinese market. Particularly, they
will be integrated into e-commerce platforms in China. We therefore
encourage Turkish and Chinese business people to make better use of
Turkey-China freight trains which opened up as a new commercial gate
between the two countries. 

Secondly,
with a population of 84 million, Turkey is serving not only as a
regional hub but also as a bridge between three continents, and for a
wide range of markets in the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the
Middle East, and North Africa. Turkey’s Customs Union with the EU allows
direct access to the EU market; while her Free Trade Agreements with 28
countries means a free access from Turkey to almost one billion
people. 

Thirdly,
the most essential infrastructure for the operationalization of the MC
has been completed. BTK railway, with a total track length of 840 km
became fully operational in 2017. An uninterrupted railway line now
connects Beijing to London through the Caspian Sea and the Bosphorus. It
was used by a China-Europe freight train for the first time in November
2019. BTK has an initial capacity of 1 million passengers and 6,5
million tonnes of cargo per annum, to be increased to 3 million
passengers and 17 million tonnes of cargo per annum by 2034. Freight
transportation on the BTK has significantly increased recently. While it
was just around 4.000 tonnes in 2017, it has doubled from 195.000 to
almost 400.000 tonnes in 2020 during the pandemic, and already reached
106.000 tons in the first quarter of 2021. 

Fourth,
there are clear opportunities presented by the Middle Corridor: it
brings a complementary route to the Northern and Southern alternatives
as well as supplements China’s Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor
under the BRI. MC stands as a credible alternative by itself in
China-Europe Express because relying too much on just one existing route
is not a safe approach. The blockage incident in the Suez Canal in
March 2021 proved once again the importance of having alternative
routes. Indeed, one of the main logics behind the BRI is to create
feasible alternative transportation routes. The use of MC in both
directions between Europe and Asia will be compatible with this logic.
Therefore, MC presents a faster and shorter connection to the Balkans,
West and Northern Europe.

Additionally,
MC route has favorable climatic conditions during winters, which will
be advantageous in transporting non-durable food and agricultural
products. 

Finally,
there is a strong political will between Turkey and China to enhance
their cooperation in this area as exemplified by President Erdoğan and
President Xi. Turkey has been one of the earliest supporters of the BRI.
Our MC Initiative has a natural complementarity with the BRI.  In 2015,
Turkey and China signed a MoU to further harmonize the BRI and the MC.
Turkey and China have similar outlooks for deepening regional economic
cooperation on the vast Eurasian landmass via transport corridors. The
relevant Turkish and Chinese authorities are planning to hold a “High
Level Joint Working Group Meeting” in the upcoming period towards this
end. 

In
conclusion, the rapid global transformation is marked by the rise of
the Asian continent and the connectivity projects. The deepening
Turkish-Chinese cooperation in transportation and logistics sectors will
surely result in more prosperity and stability across Eurasia. Much has
been achieved thanks to the fruitful cooperation between the two
countries. The recent initiation of the direct freight trains between
Turkey-China was one of the most successful examples of this
cooperation. Broader opportunities of collaboration lies in front of us
as long as we continue to galvanize our joint efforts towards our common
interests. 

Editor | Zhang Mei

Design | Demi