The China-Europe freight train paves a new way for the Belt and Road - Insights into the highlights

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 23Title: China-Europe trains pave a new path for the “One Belt, One Road”—Perspective 6 of the Highlights of China’s High-Quality Development

Xinhua News Agency reporters Fan Xi, Ding Yiquan, Zhou Yuan

At 10:18 on July 29, the 10,000th China-Europe freight train this year set sail across the country: the X8020 China-Europe freight train, fully loaded with 110 TEUs of export goods, set off from Yiwu West Railway Station with the whistle blowing and sped towards Madrid, Spain.

On the ancient Eurasian continent, the "Steel Camel Team" continues to write the story of the Silk Road. From January to July this year, China-Europe freight trains operated a total of 10,176 trains and delivered 1.104 million TEUs of goods, a year-on-year increase of 13% and 27% respectively.

After years of exploration and development, China-Europe freight trains have entered the track of high-quality development and become a new mode of international transportation organization that is convenient, fast, safe, stable, and green economy. It has also become a vivid example of China’s participation in global open cooperation and high-quality joint construction of the “Belt and Road” practice.

　　Across Asia and Europe, the network continues to extend

In the Urumqi International Dry Port Area, locomotives shuttle around and operations continue: at the multimodal transport center, reach stacker cranes grab containers marked "Made in China"; at the China-Europe Express (Urumqi) assembly center, trains of China-Europe (China) trains The Asian) train has been refitted here and is waiting for shipment...

Departing from the China-Europe Railway Express (Urumqi) assembly center, take the China-Europe Railway Express westbound along the ancient Silk Road. It takes 2 days to reach Kazakhstan, 8 days to Russia, and 16 days to reach the Netherlands.

According to data from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., 86 China-Europe freight train lines with a speed of 120 kilometers per hour have been laid out in China, connecting 112 cities in China, more than 200 cities in 25 European countries and regions, and 11 Asian countries along the lines. More than 100 cities in countries and regions.

On July 2, a batch of auto parts departing from Rayong Province, Thailand, was transported by the China-Laos Railway International Cargo Train, entered Yunnan from the Mohan Port on the China-Laos border, went all the way north, arrived in Chengdu, Sichuan, transferred to the China-Europe Express, and passed through Kazakhstan After traveling to Stan, Poland and other countries, we arrived in Budapest, Hungary.

This is the first cargo train to transport goods across the border using the "China-Laos Railway + China-Europe Express" model. "The logistics time from Rayong to Budapest has been shortened to 15 days at the fastest, which is 15 to 20 days longer than traditional sea transportation." said Li Jiye, chief of the marketing planning section of the Freight Acceptance Service Center of China Railway Kunming Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

With the opening of the Lancang-Mekong-Rongcheng-Europe Express (Rayong-Vientiane-Kunming-Chengdu-Budapest), the China-Laos Railway and China-Europe trains have been connected, forming a link spanning South Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe. new passage between.

　　Improving both quality and quantity to help the industry develop rapidly

On August 18, a China-Europe freight train loaded with clothing, mechanical equipment, hardware accessories, digital products and other goods departed from Ganzhou International Dry Port and sped towards Manzhouli Port, destined for Russia.

According to Luo Yongfeng, director of the Ganzhou International Dry Port Management Committee, relying on the platform advantages of Ganzhou International Dry Port, Gree Electric Appliances, Nature Home Furnishing, Markor Home Furnishing and other companies have settled in Nankang District, Ganzhou City. Maersk, CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping and other companies have And a large number of foreign trade supporting service companies are competing to settle in, making Ganzhou International Dry Port gradually grow into a hub port, logistics port, and trading port, winning opportunities in serving and integrating into the new development pattern.

The local Nankang furniture industry cluster has achieved rapid development, with its output value increasing from 10 billion yuan before the establishment of the port to 250 billion yuan in 2022. "With the China-Europe train, more and more furniture factories have begun to enter cross-border business." Shen Fei, chairman of Jiangxi Jiayouzi Furniture Co., Ltd., said, "After the opening of Ganzhou International Dry Port, the proportion of foreign trade in the company's business volume has increased It increased to 70%.”

Xi'an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, is also a hub node and gathering center with a clear development plan for the construction and development of China-Europe freight trains.

Walking into Xi'an International Port Station, gantry cranes are loading containers one by one. The China-Europe train Chang'an will depart from here to transport goods collected from all over China to more than 10 countries and regions in Asia and Europe.

"From heavy trucks and complete vehicles to small products such as German kitchenware, Dutch milk powder, flour, honey and other agricultural and sideline products from Central Asia, the China-Europe train Chang'an has become a 'golden channel' for trade between countries along the Silk Road." Xi'an International Port Area Party Sun Yimin, Secretary of the Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee, said.

Last year, Konka Group laid out the largest smart home appliance production base in the northwest region in Xi'an. Chen Zhao, general manager of Shaanxi Konka Intelligent Home Appliances Co., Ltd., said that China-Europe trains, which have fast transportation time, wide route coverage and higher stability, are important reasons for companies to choose to settle in Xi'an. "This year, Konka Group plans to export 1 billion yuan of white goods annually, half of which will be transported via the China-Europe Express (Xi'an)."

　　"Air and ground integration", the radiation effect becomes increasingly prominent

At the Sany Group's intelligent chemical factory located in Liangjiang New District, Chongqing, robotic arms dance and large automated material transport vehicles shuttle. A large excavator can be rolled off the production line here in about 17 minutes. "We chose Chongqing because it can rely on China-Europe trains to expand the Central Asian and European markets to the west, and rely on the New Western Land-Sea Corridor to expand the Southeast Asian and South Asian markets to the south. It can also rely on the golden waterway of the Yangtze River to take care of the domestic market." The person in charge of the factory explain.

"Compared with other land port hub cities, Chongqing's biggest advantage is that it can realize the 'free combination' of various international logistics channels of water, land and air to meet the different needs of enterprises." Vice President of Chongqing Technology and Business University, Upper Yangtze River Economic Research Center said Li Jing, executive deputy director.

In the hinterland of the Central Plains, the China-Europe freight trains (Zhongyu·Zhengzhou) radiate to more than 40 countries and more than 140 cities overseas; Zhengzhou Airport has formed an international hub route network spanning the three major economic zones of Europe, America and Asia, covering major economies in the world; my country's first A comprehensive air-rail combined cargo distribution center, Zhengzhou Airport Station High-speed Railway Logistics Center, was delivered and put into operation... With the new model of "logistics + industry", Zhengzhou is cultivating a new economic growth pole.

"The logistics industry, as the tertiary industry that connects production and consumption, is an important support for building supply chains, extending industrial chains, and improving value chains." said Li Yumin, president of the Henan Logistics Society and deputy dean of the School of Management of Zhengzhou University.

China-Europe trains not only connect China with Europe and countries along the route, but also connect East Asian countries such as South Korea and Japan, as well as Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Thailand through coastal port sea-rail combined transport, the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, and the Yangtze River Golden Waterway; through the Baltic Sea, The Black Sea, Mediterranean sea-rail combined transport and Rhine River water-rail combined transport connect the UK, Nordic countries, Mediterranean countries and the hinterland of the European continent, basically covering the entire Eurasian continent, forming a "smooth and efficient, multi-directional extension, sea and land interconnection" "channel pattern.