The paths of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recovery of the global economy remain impossible to predict. But it is becoming increasingly clear that, disruptive impact on international trade will leave a lasting mark. Companies should take a fresh, holistic view of the markets and trade relationships that are likely to drive growth and secure competitive advantage in the post-COVID-19 world.

Geographically and historically, transport and trade have united Eurasia as much as geopolitical conflicts and imperial rivalries have kept it fragmented. Since the 2000s and even more so with the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Eurasian integration (EAEU) in progress, opportunities for a major diversification and modernization of the economies of continental Eurasia via transport and trade integration, at both a regional and global level, have risen dramatically and have in fact never been greater.