An archive photo
MINSK, 17 October (BelTA) – On 17 October the Chinese newspaper China Daily published an article titled as “Mutually beneficial globalization requires open borders” by Grzegorz Kolodko, a former minister of finance of Poland and the current director of the Economic Research Center TIGER (Transformation Integration and Globalization Economic Research). The author analyzes causes and consequences of the blockade of the Belarusian-Polish border in September.
Last month Polish authorities ordered the border between Poland and Belarus to be closed for almost two weeks. It directly affected transportation by rail between China and Europe and caused damage to Chinese and European businesses.
“One cannot rule out that the decision was made in a rush, without a comprehensive analysis of its economic consequences both for Poland and for other European Union countries that receive a significant volume of goods imported from China by rail, as well as for China, which exports them to these markets,” Kolodko notes.
According to the professor, concern for Poland’s security is certainly important, including in the context of the migration crisis. However, the current flow of migrants across the border is not so intense as to warrant measures such as a complete closure of the land border or the blocking of all road and rail border crossings.
“Even if this decision was made on an impulse, its adoption has undoubtedly brought about a fundamentally new situation,” Kolodko believes. “Political arguments clearly prevail over economic ones both in Poland and throughout the EU... It is also reflected in the statement by Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski after his meeting with his Chinese counterpart. The statement reads that ‘security has a price’. The assumption that closing this section of Poland’s eastern border will increase security is highly questionable, if not doubtful," the article says.
The Polish economist also believes that political pressure exerted by the USA on EU countries, including Poland, plays a significant role in the border blockade situation. “Even if the closure of the border had not been agreed in advance with Washington, there is no doubt that the U.S. authorities welcomed it after the fact, as it weakens economic cooperation between China and the EU and further complicates political relations between Beijing and Brussels,” Kolodko believes.
It is extremely important for China that the geopolitical situation in the regions where it conducts economic operations remains favorable. It also applies to Eastern Europe. However, not only Chinese exporters but also European businesses have economic interests tied up in this region.
“The volume of merchandise trade between the European Union and China exceeds €740 billion ($859 billion) per year. In 2024 China was the EU’s third-largest partner in terms of merchandise export (8.3%) and the EU’s largest partner in merchandise import (21.3%),” Kolodko cites figures.
He notes that the suspension of Chinese rail exports to Europe across the Belarusian-Polish border was painful for manufacturers and recipients of certain products and, of course, for the railway companies themselves.
“The closure of the Belarusian-Polish border also resulted in economic losses for Polish companies, which were unable to receive goods ordered from China by rail and by road through Belarus on time. Due to the blocked border only a small part of these shipments reached their recipients via alternative routes from Belarus through Lithuania to Poland,” the article says.
Poland is interested in remaining China’s gateway to the European Union. But is this possible if Polish authorities block the border? Reflecting on this question, the Polish economist points out that China has alternative routes for transporting its goods to Europe.
“If the border blockade had lasted longer, an increasing share of goods produced in China and destined for Europe could have been transported via the southern railway route through Türkiye or the northern route by sea through the Arctic, which is becoming increasingly navigable due to global warming. In both cases it would result in increased transportation time and cost. Such a reorientation is already happening to some extent,” Kolodko notes.
When one country closes its border with another, the situation has not only geopolitical reasons but also major consequences. “And even if this border is thousands of kilometers away from China, it has economic and political significance for the Celestial Empire,” the author concludes.
Follow us on:
