Poland Leverages China’s Rail Link in Europe to Rein In Belarus
- Warsaw has struggled with migration crisis on Belarus border
- Poland uses key railway route into the EU to pressure China
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Poland has threatened to choke off a key Chinese rail export route to the European Union in a diplomatic gambit to slow escalating the migration crisis on its eastern border.
President Andrzej Duda used his state visit in Beijing in late June to link the issue of migration and freight transit on the Belarusian border, according to people briefed on the talks. The number of irregular crossings from Belarus into Poland has dropped significantly since.