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It's not just with Germany, I believe it will connect through Central Asia to Spain. Central and South Asia are the key. They're using this to project influence
by cylinder 10y ago
It's not just with Germany, I believe it will connect through Central Asia to Spain. Central and South Asia are the key. They're using this to project influence across these countries to eventually form alliances and sway them from the US. When China is your largest trading partner and foreign investor, the US is much more easily ignored. That's long term. For now, smart countries will be playing off both of them and their rivalry to their advantage.
- seanmcdirmid 10y agoFreight rail traffic from china to Europe is hugely subsidized though (can't compete with boat on cost), while the trains are coming back to china relatively empty. It is purely an influence move ATM, and doesn't have economic value yet.
- thesumofall 10y agoSurely it can't compete on costs but on speed. It's a compromise between air and sea that has found its use. In terms of economic value: At least Deutsche Bahn claims that that route is one of their few profit pools [0] [0] https://www.google.de/amp/s/amp.welt.de/amp/wirtschaft/article160672317/Bahnverbindung-Deutschland-China-ist-eine-Erfolgsgeschichte.html?client=safari https://www.google.de/amp/s/amp.welt.de/amp/wirtschaft/artic...
- seanmcdirmid 10y agoYes, it competes on speed. There were articles in the Chinese press trying to play this up, but there haven't been many takers as of then according to those articles.