The opening of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) will revive the historical prosperity of the ancient Silk Road by fostering economic, trade, and people-to-people exchanges among China, Kazakhstan, and other Belt and Road partner countries, personnel involved in the TITR project said on Wednesday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev jointly attended an official opening ceremony of the transport route in the Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on Wednesday, with the two leaders watching via video link as the route was put into operation.
The ceremony marked the first official crossing of Chinese freight from the Kazakh ports of Kuryk and Aktau along the Caspian Sea section of the TITR, which is also known as the ‘Middle Corridor’, with the two presidents giving the order for a convoy consisting of 26 freight trucks and 110 containers to be shipped across the Caspian Sea.
The route’s opening marks the establishment of a new transport corridor linking Asia with Europe via the Caspian Sea. It also represents the first-ever connection between China and Europe through a Trans-Caspian road transport route, enabling Chinese trucks to transit through Kazakhstan and reach Europe for the first time.