TITLE:
Digital Empowerment, Geopolitical Adaptation and Green Transition: The New Path of High-Quality Development of China-Europe Railway Express under the Global Supply Chain Resilience Framework
AUTHORS:
Siyuan Liu, Huibing Cheng, Aiping He, Jincheng Zhou, Yueyu Guo, Shaohan Zhuo, Dengheng Zheng
KEYWORDS:
China-Europe Railway Express, Digital Empowerment, External Factor, Green Transition, Supply Chain Resilience, Belt and Road Initiative
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.13 No.4,
April
2,
2026
ABSTRACT: Against the backdrop of frequent global supply chain disruptions, intensifying geopolitical games, and the global call for carbon neutrality, the China-Europe Railway Express (CER Express) has evolved from a “channel construction” stage to a critical period of quality improvement and efficiency optimization. As the core logistics carrier of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it has become a key link in stabilizing Eurasian trade and enhancing supply chain resilience. Based on the analysis framework of “digital empowerment-geopolitical adaptation-green transition”, this paper systematically explores the operation status, multi-dimensional challenges and development path of CER Express by integrating the latest industry data, typical cases and empirical analysis. The research shows that: by the end of 2024, the cumulative number of CER Express trains has exceeded 110,000, with a total cargo value of over 450 billion US dollars, covering more than 300 cities in 40+ countries; digital technology has improved the operation efficiency of CER Express by more than 30%, while certain geopolitical factors have increased the transportation cost by 15% - 25%; the green transformation represented by zero-carbon trains has become a new growth point, but it is constrained by inconsistent carbon accounting standards and high transformation costs. This paper proposes a high-quality development system of “digital drive + geopolitical coordination + green synergy”, which provides theoretical support and practical reference for the sustainable operation of CER Express, the interconnection of Eurasian trade, and the construction of a low-carbon and resilient global supply chain.