There is no pandemic to stop China's train on New Silk Road
More trains from China arrive in Duisburg, an inland port in Germany along the New Silk Road, than before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report published on August 13 in the Spanish newspaper El País.
“Chinese exports is recovering very quickly. We now receive between 45 and 60 trains from China per week,” Martin Murrack, head of finance for the Duisburg Chamber, told El País. This is a record number compared with the average 35 trains that arrived before the pandemic.
Duisburg, a city in western Germany, is the gateway to Europe for the New Silk Road trains through which Chinese goods arrive. In this German city, goods are loaded onto other trains, boats and trucks that then travel across Europe. Italy, France, the UK and the Scandinavian countries are some of the final destinations.
"Germany sees China as a way out of the recession. China was the first country affected by the pandemic but also the first to overcome it. German companies have a strong interest in recovering trade with China," said Noah Barkin, a researcher at the Marshall Fund in Berlin.
"My impression is that the Chinese are producing more to make up for lost time due to the novel coronavirus," says Daniel Thomas of the Duisburg Intermodal Terminal company, who works at the port.
