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.

In the first half of 2022, 307,200 TEUs were transported along the China — Europe — China Eurasian railway route, which is 8.7% less than in the same period in 2021.