Effects of cross-border railway on agricultural value chain linkages: Evidence from the China-Europe Railway Express

As an important part of "the Belt and Road" initiative, the CR Express provides a new land route for economic and trade exchanges between economies along the route. Based on the data of Eora26 multi-region and multi-industry input-output database, this paper measures the agricultural value chain linkages between China and foreign countries from the perspective of motion dimension, and uses the difference-in-differences model to explore the agricultural value chain linkages between China and countries along the railway line. The results show that: the operation of CR Express has a significant effect on enhancing bilateral agricultural value chain linkages. From the perspective of value-added inflow, the CR Express can substantially improve agricultural value chain linkages by extending the length of the agricultural industry chain between China and other countries. There is regional heterogeneity in the agricultural value chain linkage effect of the CR Express, compared to non-adjacent countries, the linkage effect is significantly stronger for countries adjacent to the railway's route. Therefore, it is essential to focus on the deep integration of the CR Express with "the Belt and Road" Initiative, segment international markets, and achieve complementary advantages in the agricultural industry through the extension of the agricultural industry chain.