"Our dream is to create, with road transport, peace and prosperity not only in a handful of ports and port hinterlands, but in all the other regions," said Paul Laeremans, president of the International Road Transport Union.

"If it was possible to link these regions by transporting goods along the Silk Road 700 years ago, why would it not be possible today?"

"We must imperatively pull down the numerous obstacles to road transport and trade, resulting mainly from inappropriate procedures rather than a lack of infrastructure," Laeremans said in a speech to a conference on Asian and European transport in Warsaw.

The biggest headaches along the ancient trade route stem from bureaucracy in Russia and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, according to the International Road Transport Union, which groups 180 member associations in 70 member countries.

"Governments should never forget that any penalty on road transport is an even bigger penalty on economic development," said Laeremans.

European Union member states, meanwhile, have increasingly harmonised their transport policies, the union noted.

China's booming economy is increasing the need to boost links across the two continents, and sea and rail routes are unable to absorb the trade flows, according to the road organisation.