China and Azerbaijan to ensure Trans-Caspian route breakthrough in 2025

By Tural Heybatov

In November of last year, China’s "Belt and Road Initiative" marked its 10th anniversary. Speaking at a high-level international forum dedicated to the occasion, Chinese President Xi Jinping outlined eight steps to support the initiative's high-quality implementation.

Notably, the first step emphasized transportation, specifically the development of a transport network within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. “We will intensify the development of container trains along the China-Europe route, participate in building the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR—Middle Corridor) , hold a high-level forum on international cooperation in China-Europe freight railways, and jointly create new logistics corridors across the Eurasian continent based on direct rail and road transportation,” Xi stated.

The vigorous effort with which China has promoted its initiative in the past year clearly shows that this area has been prioritized by the Chinese leader for good reason. While economic development, investments, and other areas are important, without reliable logistics, economic progress is unattainable, and investments would not yield the anticipated results. This understanding of logistics as a cornerstone has been key to China’s success, and Beijing is ready to share this success with partners who have joined its grand initiative.

China’s commitment to actively participating in the construction and use of TITR and collaborating more closely with Azerbaijan and other countries along the route is reflected in the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership, signed on July 3 this year in Astana by the leaders of Azerbaijan and China. On the same occasion, an intergovernmental memorandum was signed to develop the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor for China-Europe freight trains, outlining key directions for strengthening cooperation in transportation and logistics centered on TITR.

Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to join the project and is actively involved in its promotion and implementation—a fact that has not gone unnoticed. China highly values Azerbaijan not only as a transit country but also as a partner capable of independently addressing challenges.



In 2025, China will provide Azerbaijan with favorable conditions for transit transportation, which will stimulate freight shipments from China through Azerbaijan, said Ding Tao, China’s chargé d'affaires in Azerbaijan , during a press conference summarizing Azerbaijan-China relations in 2024.

“We are pleased to see that, leveraging its unique geographic advantages, significant transit potential, and robust infrastructure, Azerbaijan is playing an increasingly important role in enhancing regional connectivity via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. Its status as a vital transport hub in Eurasia is further solidifying. According to statistics from countries along the route, the volume of freight transported via the route during the first 10 months of this year increased by 68%, amounting to 3.8 million tons. The annual figure is expected to reach a record level,” the Chinese diplomat stated.

China, he noted, is ready to work with Azerbaijan to further integrate the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road corridor with the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.

Earlier this December, the 300th container block train was dispatched via TITR from China (from the Kazakhstan-China terminal in Xi'an) to Azerbaijan. According to recent data, the volume of goods transported from China via TITR exceeded 27,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units), which is 25 times more than during the same period last year. And this is just the beginning. China and its partners will continue to work on expanding the route and increasing its capacity. By 2025, the number of China-Europe block trains passing through Azerbaijan is expected to triple, reaching 1,000 per year. It is also significant that shipments have started to move in the opposite direction: in November, the first block train was dispatched from Baku to Xi'an, marking the beginning of Azerbaijan’s exports to China by rail.

Recently, an office of the Absheron Logistics Center was opened in Xi'an. At the opening ceremony, a strategic cooperation agreement was signed between the center and the Xi'an International Port Chanba.



The primary goal of the agreement is to increase the frequency of route trains from China to Azerbaijan and optimize transportation times. Absheron is the largest logistics center in Baku, currently handling an average of 100 containers from China monthly, with plans to increase this figure to 150-200 containers.

It is worth noting that the demand for the Middle Corridor has far exceeded expectations since the project’s inception. A year ago, the route was mainly used for transit freight, but 2024 became a year of rapid development, bringing new substance to the corridor. Azerbaijan is no longer merely a transit point for Chinese goods; it has also begun to advance its export potential through TITR.

Against the backdrop of the complex geopolitical landscape in which Azerbaijan is situated, the significance of the country’s transport routes and corridors has grown even more, as both its northern and southern neighbors are under sanctions. This fact draws even more attention to the Middle Corridor from both importers and exporters. Since the beginning of the year, China-Europe freight trains have been launched from Xi'an, Nanjing, Chongqing, Urumqi, Lianyungang, Yiwu, and other cities in China, with the number of trains steadily increasing. Moreover, according to Chinese sources, countries along the Pacific coast—Japan and South Korea—have also chosen TITR as their route for sending goods to Europe.

News.Az