The road to unlocking more trade between China and Central & Eastern Europe

Harmonised processes and closer public-private cooperation can unlock even more trade between China and Central and Eastern Europe, IRU said to transport leaders in Beijing today.

IRU Secretary General Habib Turki joined more than 200 representatives from governments, international organisations and leading transport companies at the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Logistics Cooperation Conference.

In his keynote speech, Habib Turki stressed that logistics, more than any single technology, turns industrial capacity into shared prosperity.

"Our modern transport corridors between China and Central and Eastern Europe have been built over the past decade," said Habib Turki. "Today, trucks are crossing multiple borders to transport valuable goods in both directions. Each truck adds to the flexibility and resilience that road transport brings to supply chains, and to the resulting trade, development and prosperity that follow."

IRU has supported road freight connectivity between China and Europe for over three decades. Today, more than 3,700 TIR-registered vehicles operate from China on over 120 routes into Central and Eastern Europe, crossing over 60 borders through Central Asia, the Caucasus and Türkiye.

Earlier this year, TIR's scope in China expanded to cover e-commerce and bonded cargo, opening the system to entirely new kinds of trade.

The benefits are increasingly visible. For example, a bonded TIR shipment from China to Azerbaijan can now be completed in 15 days, half the time of the equivalent sea journey.

Further growth will depend on continued facilitation.

TIR green lanes at key China borders already give TIR trucks priority passage, while 11 facilitation sites across the country offer one-stop-shop services to logistics operators.

"This is what collaboration between public and private sectors does: it turns standards and rules on paper into a corridor that moves and trade that grows," said Habib Turki.

The potential is significant. Trade between China and Central and Eastern Europe reached USD 161.5 billion in 2025, following its tenth consecutive year of growth, before expanding by a further 11% in the first half of 2026.

Habib Turki also highlighted the role of road transport in building more resilient supply chains. Trucks can be rapidly rerouted when geopolitical disruption, natural disasters or other crises affect established corridors.

The Middle Corridor is a prime example of how diversified transport routes can provide alternative connections between China and Europe.

TIR further enhances the corridor by allowing goods to cross multiple countries under a single international customs guarantee, reducing border delays and administrative procedures.

"Cross-border transport is, by nature, a tangle of many rules, systems and ways of doing things," said Habib Turki. "The challenge for transport corridors is to harmonise those rules and processes."

"IRU is committed, on behalf of our members and the road transport community across China and every Central and Eastern European country, to keep goods and supply chains moving quickly, efficiently and securely," he concluded. "The road ahead is long. But every great road, however far it stretches, begins with those willing to walk it together."