Land Corridors Between China-Europe and Central Asia Showcase Stability and Rule Breakthroughs

When the China-Europe Railway Express (Changsha) issued the nation's first railway combined transport bill of lading with financial attributes, the rules of the game in international logistics were being rewritten.

The number of China-Europe (Central Asia) freight trains passing through Xinjiang's dual ports has surpassed the 10,000-mark. The hinterland of Central Asia, once seen as the "end of civilization," is rapidly transforming into an "open hub." Meanwhile, the newly launched "China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan" scheduled freight trains are continuously transporting "Made in China" products to Central Asia at a frequency of two trains per week.

Even more revolutionary is the successful application of a new bill of lading based on the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships by the China-Europe Railway Express (Changsha). This rule breakthroughhas, for the first time, endowed railway waybills with the functions of a document of title and financing.

01 Upgrading "Hard Connectivity": Network Densification and the Timeliness Revolution

The land corridors between China-Europe and Central Asia are undergoing a profound "hardening" upgrade. This is reflected not only in the growth of train frequencies but also in the densification of networks and innovation in models.

The regular operation of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan scheduled freight trainsmarks a qualitative leap in corridor stability. This route, utilizing a "rail-road-rail" multimodal transport model, shortens the total transit time for delivering goods from China to Afghanistan to within 15 days.

Compared to traditional road transport, its international logistics cost is reduced by approximately 30%, while customs clearance time is compressed to 6-8 hours.

Deeper "hard connectivity" is evident in the integration of infrastructure. The completion of seven tunnels at altitudes above 3,000 meters through the Fergana Mountains has shortened overland travel time between the basin and the outside world by 70%. In the future, once the approximately 523-kilometer China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is opened, freight transit time is expected to be reduced from over 10 days to within 7 days.

02 Breakthrough in "Soft Connectivity": Documentation Revolution and Rule Reshaping

If "hard connectivity" is the skeleton, then "soft connectivity" is the lifeblood that animates the corridor. For a long time, the inability of railway waybills to serve as documents of title has been a key bottleneck restricting financing for overland trade.

In December 2025, the innovative "Multimodal Transport Single Document System" model launched by the China-Europe Railway Express (Changsha) directly addressed this industry pain point.

Based on the newly adopted United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships by the UN General Assembly, the issued NCD (Negotiable Combined Transport Document) possesses clear title attributes. Enterprises can control goods with the document and take delivery with the document, significantly enhancing supply chain controllability and trade flexibility.

The essence of this rule breakthrough is the successful transplantation of the mature financial and legal functions of ocean bills of lading to rail transport. Banks can provide financing services such as letters of credit to enterprises based on this document, effectively leveraging assets of goods in transit and helping foreign trade enterprises reduce comprehensive logistics and financing costs.

03 Industry Opportunities: From Transport Corridors to Value Chain Integration

The parallel development of "hard and soft connectivity" opens up new value spaces for the international logistics industry, especially for small and medium-sized freight forwarders and logistics companies.

The primary opportunity lies in providing high-value-added supply chain solutions. The financing function of the new bill of lading means logistics services are no longer limited to transportation but can extend to trade settlement and supply chain finance. Companies can design integrated "logistics + finance" packages for clients, which will become a core differentiator from traditional freight forwarding.

Next is the opportunity for professional market segmentation. With the scheduling of routes like China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan, companies with deep operational knowledge and network resources for specific regions (e.g., the five Central Asian countries) or specific product categories (e.g., new energy vehicles, mechanical parts) will build strong barriers.

The stable timeliness and不断增强的 rule certainty of land transport make it a cost-effective alternative for clients affected by maritime fluctuations, bringing new opportunities for logistics companies to convert customers.

04 Practical Challenges: Capability Restructuring and Competitive Evolution

Behind the opportunities lie a higher industry threshold and changing competitive logic, presenting multi-dimensional challenges for logistics companies.

The core challenge is the restructuring of service capabilities. To effectively utilize new rules like the "Single Document System," companies need knowledge beyond traditional logistics, such as understanding international trade finance and legal compliance. The ability to genuinely help clients achieve "financing with documents" tests the comprehensive service capability of logistics firms.

Secondly, operational complexity increases significantly. Multimodal transport involves the coordination of various modes like rail and road, as well as customs coordination across multiple countries along the route. Management complexity grows exponentially, and any failure at a node can cause delays for the entire journey.

Furthermore, industry competition is shifting from "price competition" to "solution competition." The model of relying solely on information asymmetry to earn freight margins is becoming unsustainable. The key to survival will be the ability to provide stable, reliable, cost- and time-efficient integrated solutions that also address clients' capital pressure issues.

05 The Path Forward: Building Core Advantages for the Digital Age

Facing the new corridor landscape of "combined hard and soft connectivity," logistics companies need to build future-oriented core enterprise advantages in the following aspects:

Deepen rule application capability: Proactively learn and master new rules like the UN Convention, establish cooperation with banks and legal institutions, and turn document financialization services into standard offerings.

Strengthen network and data control: Invest in logistics information systems to achieve end-to-end visual tracking of complex multimodal nodes like scheduled freight trains, using data-driven certainty to offset the uncertainty of the physical world.

Focus on vertical industry solutions: Abandon a one-size-fits-all approach and choose to deeply cultivate industries suitable for rail transport, such as new energy vehicles or specialty agricultural products, providing industry-depth solutions from packaging and customs declaration to transportation and finance.

As the wheels of the China-Europe Railway Express innovate in sync with international trade rules, a land logistics artery that is more resilient, intelligent, and "profitable" has become clearly defined.

Shanghai Wenaili believes that the future leaders will be those logistics enterprises that can not only navigate the physical network of the "steel camel train" but also master the rule-based language of document finance, seamlessly weaving the two together with digital threads. In the era where "hard connectivity" and "soft connectivity" converge, the true core enterprise advantage lies in transforming the certainty of international logistics timeliness and the optimization capability of international logistics cost into an indispensable stable cornerstone for clients' supply chains.