Road Transportation in Asia & Pacific

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Regional snapshot

From China to Lao PDR, countries in this region are at different stages of development when it comes to road transport infrastructure and regulation. Driving across the Asia Pacific, vehicles meet standards in one country while failing them in others. Other challenges in the region include bureaucratic ‘grey areas’ such as corruption activity at border crossing points and en route, and the implementation challenges of multi-lateral or bi-lateral agreements within the region.

China recognises the potential of TIR to facilitate trade

Advancing Belt and Road prospects, China opened 6 customs checkpoints to start TIR operations in 2018, and then expanded TIR to all its 1,200+ customs checkpoints since June 2019. The rapid development shows the country’s commitment to opening up and promoting win-win cooperation.

To move further with trade facilitation, IRU is in discussions with China’s neighbouring countries, encouraging them to also accede to TIR. Elsewhere, China is actively studying other UN Conventions including CMR (Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road) and ADR (European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road).

TIR connects East and West

‘Belt and Road’ is the name given to the modern-day Silk Road, the ancient trade route that previously linked China with its Eurasian counterparts, and which, thanks to better connections by road, train and sea, is opening up the trade bridge between China and its neighbours, and countries farther away. China’s accession to TIR has been the missing piece of the jigsaw, as most of the other countries along this new trade route are already TIR contracting parties. Since China implemented TIR, transports have been active along key Belt and Road corridors, demonstrating the positive impact of connectivity.

South Asia

In 2015, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal (BBIN) signed the Motor Vehicle Agreement to facilitate passenger and goods transport in the region. To this end, UN road transport conventions such as the TIR Convention and other global standards and best practices could help this region to implement the BBIN Agreement effectively. With India now acceded to the TIR Convention, IRU has expressed its readiness to support this region to promote road transport and transit. The intermodal aspect of the TIR system, encompassing rail, sea and air could also play an important role to connect this region to other parts of the world. Under the intermodal aspect of the TIR Convention, all of these countries and corridors connect to each other.

IRU regional office

8 Oct 2021 Istanbul

TIR slashes 80% off transit time with new Pakistan-Iran-Turkey corridor

16 Sep 2021 Beijing

IRU lays out Green Compact to support China decarbonisation efforts

1 Sep 2021 Tehran

ECO push on TIR expansion and digitalisation

New Eurasian Land Transport Initiative (NELTI)

With China’s Belt and Road initiatives moving ahead, IRU’s longstanding, prescient work to reopen ancient Silk Road trade routes linking Asia to Europe across Eurasia has gathered ground and has set the foundations in place for the recent developments now transforming trade prospects for the region.

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