China Builds Alternative Overland Routes to Europe via Chongqing

China is stepping up efforts to create alternative routes for its exports to Europe, aiming to bypass traditional sea lanes in the South China Sea amid rising geopolitical tensions with the United States and its allies. At the heart of this strategy is Chongqing, the mountainous inland city that has quickly become a vital rail hub and is being touted as the new Suez Canal for Asia.

The city now handles hundreds of freight shipments daily, linking Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Singapore with European markets, including Germany and Poland, through high-speed trains. The ASEAN bullet train, launched in 2023, has further cut transit times, reducing Hanoi–Chongqing journeys to just five days and enabling goods to reach Europe in under two weeks—10 to 20 days faster than sea transport.

Chongqing is not just a transit point but also a major production base, responsible for one-third of the world’s laptops and a significant share of China’s electric car and automobile exports. Analysts note that the focus on rail corridors is also strategic, the trade war with the U.S., the pandemic’s disruption of sea freight, and the war in Ukraine have all highlighted the vulnerability of maritime supply chains.

To counter these risks, Beijing is promoting a Middle Corridor through Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea to avoid Russia and Western-controlled sea straits. Yet, challenges remain, customs delays, high costs, poor infrastructure, and reliance on subsidies continue to weigh on the project’s long-term viability. Still, Chongqing’s rise underscores China’s determination to secure more resilient and politically independent trade routes to Europe.