Digital Empowerment, Geopolitical Adaptation and Green Transition: The New Path of High-Quality Development of China-Europe Railway Express under the Global Supply Chain Resilience Framework

Against the backdrop of frequent global supply chain disruptions, intensifying geopolitical games, and the global call for carbon neutrality, the China-Europe Railway Express (CER Express) has evolved from a “channel construction” stage to a critical period of quality improvement and efficiency optimization. As the core logistics carrier of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it has become a key link in stabilizing Eurasian trade and enhancing supply chain resilience. Based on the analysis framework of “digital empowerment-geopolitical adaptation-green transition”, this paper systematically explores the operation status, multi-dimensional challenges and development path of CER Express by integrating the latest industry data, typical cases and empirical analysis. The research shows that: by the end of 2024, the cumulative number of CER Express trains has exceeded 110,000, with a total cargo value of over 450 billion US dollars, covering more than 300 cities in 40 countries; digital technology has improved the operation efficiency of CER Express by more than 30%, while geopolitical frictions have increased the transportation cost by 15% - 25%; the green transformation represented by zero-carbon trains has become a new growth point, but it is constrained by inconsistent carbon accounting standards and high transformation costs. This paper proposes a high-quality development system of “digital drive geopolitical coordination green synergy”, which provides theoretical support and practical reference for the sustainable operation of CER Express, the interconnection of Eurasian trade, and the construction of a low-carbon and resilient global supply chain.