Finding a fast route to European nations

Trains along the New Silk Road offer alternative, but high costs may see them play second fiddle to sea transport

In recent years, DP World has been actively operating in the landlocked town of Khorgos, where the nearest ocean is hundreds of miles away. This may seem like an unlikely location for DP World, one of the world's largest port operators with 65 marine terminals across six continents, but its presence here is not without strategic calculation.

A remote Chinese town bordering Kazakhstan, Khorgos is set to become a visa-free special economic zone with simplified customs regulations.