Poland reopens border with Belarus as China aims to protect trade routes

Poland reopens border with Belarus as China seeks to protect trade routes

Poland has reopened its border with Belarus after almost two weeks. Warsaw closed the border due to the joint military exercises “Zapad” that Minsk held with Russia.

Beijing appears to have played a crucial role in the decision to reopen the border.

In the early hours of September 25, passenger vehicles resumed passage via Terespol–Brest and trucks via Kukuriki–Kazlovichi, while the freight railway reopened via Kuznica Białostocka–Hrodna, Siemianovka–Swisłać and Terespol–Brest. This step followed an order by Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski, which was made public by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The border had been closed since September 12, in order to prevent security risks and migratory pressure.

Since 2021, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have accused Belarus of using migration as a weapon, luring people from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia with tourist visas and pushing them towards the borders of the European Union.

Warsaw has described this as a hybrid operation by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus, supported by Moscow, to destabilize the EU. This strategy has caused a humanitarian crisis, with migrants stranded for weeks in forests near the border and dozens dying from exposure to harsh weather conditions.

The data shows that attempts at irregular crossings fell in early September, increased during the “Zapad” exercises to 687 cases, and fell to 663 last week. Between September 20 and 23, 282 attempts at illegal border crossing were recorded.

China’s trade route to the EU

China’s involvement in reopening the border is key. On September 16, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski met in Warsaw with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. Sikorski said Poland hopes Beijing will again help curb “Belarusian provocations,” recalling how a 2024 meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Polish President Andrzej Duda coincided with a temporary drop in illegal border crossings.

Analysts say China’s priority is not political rapprochement but protecting trade routes. The Poland-Belarus border is a major artery of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which transports goods from China to the EU. Disruptions to trade routes threaten to delay shipments and undermine Beijing’s claim that the Eurasian railway is a credible alternative to sea routes.

“China wants to avoid blame and keep its shipments flowing,” Temur Umarov, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, told Radio Free Europe. “Its focus is on economic stability and showing that the Belt and Road works.”

Whether Beijing’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy has worked will soon be tested: only a steady decline in the number of migrants will confirm whether Minsk has eased the pressure on the border with Poland due to Chinese influence. /REL