Against the prevailing narrative of the The Belt and Road as a top-down strategy to spread China’s geopolitical influence, there is the BRI’s impact through its first decade as emanating «from the middle out and bottom up» via transport-enabled corridors traversing a large number of regions within and across national territories.

The success of China-Europe rail freight raises the question of its subsidy policy. In 2022, an adjustment seems more likely than an outright end to subsidies.