The Trans-Caspian route in the mirror of Azerbaijani-Chinese relations

"I am confident that President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road initiative will create additional opportunities for all countries. And again, these are communication opportunities, business opportunities, stability and security. Because we are all becoming interdependent. We have an important infrastructure project that unites us and creates a favorable environment for resolving various issues between the countries at the bilateral and multilateral levels." He said this in an interview with the Chinese TV channel SLEEP (China Global Television Network). President Ilham Aliyev.

It should be noted that the Middle Corridor, or the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, is one of the main segments of the Chinese initiative, and Azerbaijan plays a primary role here. In the same interview, the head of state noted that the initial goal was to increase the corridor's capacity to 15 million tons per year at the Baku International Commercial Seaport. But now there is a prospect of increasing cargo traffic to 25 million tons in the next 5-6 years. And this means modernizing and expanding the capabilities of the Baku port in order to be ready for this.

Indeed, everything is changing rapidly, and these changes are dictated by the rapidly changing geopolitical situation.

Speaking at the high-level international forum on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced 8 steps to support the high-quality implementation of the initiative. Among the steps he announced, the following was the first: "We will step up the development of container trains on the China-Europe route, join the construction of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TMTM - Middle Corridor), hold a high-level forum for international cooperation in the field of China-Europe freight trains, and jointly create new logistics corridors on the Eurasian continent based on direct rail and road transportation."

The willingness of the Chinese side to actively participate in the construction and use of the TMTM and work more closely with Azerbaijan in this regard is reflected in the Joint Declaration on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership, signed on July 3, 2024 in Astana by the heads of Azerbaijan and China. At the same time, an intergovernmental Memorandum on the development of the Trans-Caspian

about the China-Europe International Freight train transport corridor, which defines important areas for strengthening cooperation in the field of transport and logistics around the TMTM.

Azerbaijan is one of the first countries to join the project and is actively involved in its promotion and implementation. And this fact is not ignored. China attaches great importance to Azerbaijan not only as a transit country, but also as a partner capable of putting forward initiatives and implementing them independently.

In 2025, China will provide Azerbaijan with favorable conditions for transit traffic, which will be an incentive for cargo transportation through Azerbaijan, said Ding Tao, Charge d'affaires of China to Azerbaijan, during a press conference on the results of Azerbaijani-Chinese relations in 2024.

"We are pleased to see that based on its unique geographical advantages, huge transit potential and good infrastructure, Azerbaijan is playing an increasingly important role in deepening regional connectivity through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, and its position as an important transport hub in Eurasia is further strengthened. According to statistics from the country located along the route, in the first 10 months of this year, the volume of cargo transportation along the above route increased by 68 percent, which is up to 3.8 million tons year-on-year. The annual figure is expected to reach a record high," the Chinese diplomat said.

China, he said, is ready to work with Azerbaijan to promote deeper integration of the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road corridor with the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.

Recall that in 2024, 350 container block trains were sent to Azerbaijan via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route from China (from the Kazakh-Chinese terminal in Xi'an). It is important that last year transportation began in the opposite direction. So, in November, the first block train was sent from Baku to Xi'an, which marked the opening of the beginning of Azerbaijan's exports of goods to China by rail. This year, about 600 container trains are planned to be sent from China along the Middle Corridor, which indicates the further growth and potential of this important transport route.

Recently, a representative office of the Absheron Logistics Center was opened in Xi'an. An agreement on strategic cooperation between the center and Xi'an Changba International Port was signed at the opening ceremony. The main purpose of the cooperation agreement is to increase the intensity of block trains running from China to Azerbaijan and optimize transportation times. It should be noted that Absheron is the largest logistics center in Baku. On average, 100 containers from China are handled here every month, and there are plans to increase this figure to 150-200 tons.

Against the background of the difficult geopolitical situation in the geography in which Azerbaijan is located, the importance of corridors and roads passing through the territory of our country is increasing even more. This fact contributes to even greater attention to TMTM by both importers and exporters. Freight trains from China to Europe via TMTM have already been launched in Xi'an, Nanjing, Chongqing, Urumqi, Lianyungang, Yiwu and other cities of China, and their number is expected to grow. Moreover, according to Chinese media, the countries located along the Pacific coast - Japan and South Korea - have also chosen the TMTM route to send goods to Europe.

It should be noted that today TMTM is in demand much more than expected at the beginning of the implementation of this idea. A year ago, the route was mainly used for the transportation of transit goods, and 2024 was the year of the rapid development of the corridor and its saturation with new content. From now on, Azerbaijan not only serves as a transit point for Chinese goods, but also began to use the corridor itself to promote its export potential.

In January of this year, President Ilham Aliyev held a meeting on the development of transport in the country, which also touched upon the development of international transport and logistics corridors.

According to the Presidential decree, the second stage of development of the Baku International Commercial Sea Port in Alat will begin this year. Its goal is to increase the capacity from 15 to 25 million tons and increase the capacity of the container terminal to 500,000 TEU per year. It should be noted that the coordination of the work of the ports of Alat and Aktau (Kazakhstan) led to the decision to create a joint intermodal cargo terminal in the port of Alat with the participation of the Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Chinese sides.

Speaking last April at the international forum on "SORGHUM and the Green Vision for Azerbaijan" held at ADA University, President Ilham Aliyev said: "I firmly believe in the great future of the Middle Corridor project."

Azerbaijan not only believes in the future of this important logistics route, but also does everything to develop it in cooperation with its partners, among whom China occupies a special place.