December 30, 2020.- The Belt and Road Initiative, China’s superproject to create a New Silk Road across the entire Eurasian continent, could become a bridge to the future for everyone along the road, bringing both economic and political liberation.
In October 2008 a special train arrived at the port of Hamburg – Germany’s biggest port in the country’s second largest city. It transported 50 containers with IT products from China, crossing about 10,000km in 17 days to reach its destination. On its way from China it used the rail network of several countries, including the Trans-Siberian railway in the endless expanses of Russia. In 2011 another train from China took 16 days to arrive in the German city of Duisburg – the world’s biggest inland port. In 2013 a new record was set: a train with 51 containers finished the route from China to Hamburg in 15 days. For comparison: a container ship needs twice the time for this.