31

Since 2011, rail freight transport links between China and Europe have been on the rise. This commercial initiative has been developing rapidly: the number of trains has increased significantly, and the ambitions of both Chinese and European partners are high. Rail still has a low trans-Asian freight market share. However, rail link development projects for trans-Asian freight experienced a dramatic revival with the advent of the Belt and Road Initiative. We are witnessing a rapid expansion of volumes and of the services offered, accompanied by the definition and implementation of new rail infrastructure that runs from Russia and China to Southeast Asia, Iran, or Pakistan, through what China presents as development corridors. Both potential development levers and assets for strategic rapprochement, how are these corridor projects developing?