TRANSPORT ALTERNATIVES IN SUPPLY CHAINS BETWEEN CHINA AND CEE IN THE POST PANDEMIC WORLD

Abstract

This paper discusses the modal shifts in freight transportation between China and CEE caused by the pandemic and the opportunities for the future development of the land corridors in the post pandemic world. After a brief introduction to the Belt and Road initiative, a literature review of the existing researches on evaluation of the current and emerging trade corridors is performed. An analysis of key indicators for the supply chains transportation, including cost, time, availability and reliability is made for the period before and during the pandemic. The results demonstrate that the pandemic impacts the development of the NELB corridor, helping this initially government-driven initiative to become market-driven sooner than expected.