title: Divide and Conquer or Unite to Trade: Trade Facilitation along the China-Europe Railway Corridors
abstract: Global value chains are subservient to networks that underpin the exchange of goods, money and information. Creating networks for trade until recently championed the narrative of economic freedom as networks of interdependence provided a pacifying effect for peace and prosperity in the post-Cold War era. However, the resilience of these networks is increasingly being tested through conflicts, geopolitics, and legal barriers. The railway network connecting China and Europe receives no exceptional