Poland's Border Closure Halts EU-China Rail Trade

By closing the border due to military exercises in Belarus, Poland has hindered trade between the EU and China. Politico writes about this, noting that although the military exercises of Russia and Belarus have, of course, ended, Poland is in no hurry to open its borders, thereby hindering the trade flow between China and the European Union, which has an annual volume of 25 billion euros. It is particularly important that the closure affects the trade route that carries 90% of rail freight between China and the European Union.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Warsaw on Monday for talks with his Polish counterpart, Radosław Sikorski. "During the talks, it was absolutely clearly stated that in this situation, the logic of trade, which is also beneficial to us, is being replaced by the logic of security. And Minister Sikorski expressed this very clearly," said the official representative of the Polish Foreign Ministry, Paweł Wroński. He added that the Chinese side did not make direct demands to open the border. The United States is undoubtedly pleased with these developments.

"I am almost certain that Washington is more than happy about the, at least temporary, closure of these routes, as they put pressure on the European Union to demand additional tariffs on Russian oil and gas supplies to China," said Piotr Niemczyk, the former head of Poland's foreign intelligence service.