Polish Border Closure Disrupts China–EU Rail Trade Corridor

By Staff, Agencies

Trans-Eurasian trade is facing severe disruption after Poland shut its border with Belarus, effectively freezing a route that handles around 90% of all rail freight between China and the EU, according to Politico.

Warsaw said the decision was prompted by the Russian-Belarusian “Zapad-2025” military exercises, held from September 12 to 16. The Polish Foreign Ministry described the drills as “very aggressive” and conducted “dangerously close to the Polish border”.

Moscow, however, insisted the maneuvers were defensive in nature and informed by lessons from the Ukraine conflict.

The move has blocked a key artery valued at roughly €25 billion annually, halting shipments of all goods, including critical supplies such as medicine and food. The disruption comes on top of wider trade tensions between the EU and China over tariffs, subsidies, and security concerns.

China reacted swiftly, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi traveling to Warsaw on Monday to meet his Polish counterpart, Radoslaw Sikorski. Ahead of the talks, Beijing urged Poland to safeguard the Belarus rail link, describing it as a “flagship project” of China’s cooperation with Poland and the EU.

Sikorski, however, made clear that “the logic of trade” was being replaced by “the logic of security,” according to Polish foreign ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski. He added that China did not explicitly demand the reopening of the crossing.

The European Commission has said it is monitoring the fallout but stressed that “it’s too early to go into further detail”.

Piotr Krawczyk, former head of Poland’s Foreign Intelligence Agency, suggested that Washington may quietly support Warsaw’s hard line.

“I am quite sure Washington is more than happy to see the routes closed – at least temporarily,” he said, noting US pressure on the EU to impose higher tariffs on China over its purchases of Russian energy.

The closure underscores how security calculations in Eastern Europe are increasingly colliding with global trade flows, potentially reshaping China–EU economic relations.