China, EU – Baltic States, Forum, Latvia, Port, Transport

Both the Chinese and Latvian side admitted that this transportation corridor would be able to compete with the current one through Poland. They also added that the further development of this new transit corridor will be discussed during the upcoming high-level international transport and logistics conference in Riga where connections between Asia, especially China, and the European Union will be discussed. Two Chinese ministers have already confirmed their attendance at the conference.

The ambassador pointed out that Latvia has every opportunity to become an important transportation and logistics corridor between Europe and China. He explained that Latvia is located in a perfect geographical position. At the same time, Guoqiang pointed out that there is no reason for Chinese entrepreneurs not to be interested in Latvia, which is close to the consumer markets. He also confirmed that the future of the transportation corridor will be discussed during the upcoming conference in Riga.

Meanwhile, Matiss pointed out that if this transit corridor turns out to be effective and competitive, the volumes of cargo shipped through Latvia could be quite substantial, taking into account the potential and growth of Chinese companies. He pointed out that opportunities must be found to allow Chinese investors to invest in Latvian ports. Furthermore, rail transportation is much faster than transporting cargo by sea.

As reported, the conference itself is scheduled to take place June 3 to 4 in Riga.