The departure of X8157 train from Xi'an International Port Station Photo: Liu Yang/GT
At 8:40 am on Saturday, with the departure of X8157 train from Xi'an International Port Station, Northwest China's Shaanxi to Poland's Malaszewicze, the cumulative number of China-Europe Railway Express services exceeded 90,000, with more than 8.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo representing a value of more than $380 billion.
Officials and traders said that the number reflects the country speeding up the pace of high-level opening-up, and that foreign trade remained stable and robust despite geopolitical uncertainty.
The railway express, serving as a stable and safe channel to ensure global supply chains, will further inject new impetus for serving the high-quality construction of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and promote deeper economic and trade exchanges between China and Europe, they noted.
"The 90,000th train is loaded with LCD monitors, clothing, shoes and hats, and automobile spare parts," Shao Boer, general manager from Xi'an International Inland Port Multinational Transportation Co, told the Global Times on Saturday at the train departure site.
According to China State Railway Group Co, the time required to launch 10,000 trains has been shortened from 90 months at the beginning to seven months at present.
The increasing speed of every 10,000 trains proves that more commodities are being imported and exported between Central Asia, Europe and other countries through the China-Europe freight trains, with closer bilateral economic and trade exchanges, Shao noted.
A view of Xi'an International Port Station Photo: Liu Yang/GT
From 2016 to 2023, the annual number of China-Europe freight train trips increased from 1,702 to over 17,000, surging nearly 10 times with annual growth of 39.5 percent. The types of goods via the China-Europe freight trains have expanded from IT products such as laptops and printers at the beginning to over 50,000 different types, including clothing and footwear, automobiles and parts, daily necessities, food, timber, furniture, chemicals and machinery.
Traders both from home and abroad hailed the China-Europe Railway Express, as the trains have not only allowed domestic producers to access global markets, but also facilitated the entry of more overseas businesses into the huge Chinese market.
"With the support of the BRI, our company is growing very fast. Within two years, the company shipped 70 trains from 10 trains per month, totaling more than 5,000 containers," said Nursuru Zholbaskanova, CEO of a Russian logistic company SMARTLOG.
After the first China-Central Asia Summit was held in Xi'an last year, China and the Central Asian countries have been eyeing closer trade ties, so we transported more goods from these countries, Zholbaskanova told the Global Times, noting the cost-effectiveness of the China-Europe Railway Express.
Shaanxi Konka Intelligent Home Appliances Co, as the only intelligent kitchen appliance production base of Konka Group in Northwest China, has received overseas orders for over 10,000 dishwasher units this year, with the export destinations including Germany, France, Italy as well as Kazakhstan and Russia.
"Compared with the 45-day journey by sea, China-Europe freight trains need only 15 to 20 days to reach their destination and at lower costs. The most important is that the Express can ensure the safety of merchants," Chen Zhao, general manager of Shaanxi Konka Intelligent Home Appliances Co, told the Global Times.
"Facing global uncertainties including the Red Sea crisis, we have provided insurance to transport enterprises and platform companies to ensure no loss, while accelerating cooperation between domestic and offshore railroad companies to guarantee safe transportation along the routes," an official from China State Railway, told the Global Times on Saturday.
So far, the China-Europe freight trains are connected to 223 cities across 25 European countries and over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries, with the service network covering almost the entire Eurasian continent, China State Railway said.
As China's economy continues to rebound and China-EU trade continues to grow, the transportation demand for China-EU freight trains will remain high, and the Express will continuously provide strong transportation services to promote the development of the country's foreign trade and serve the high level of opening-up.
周六上午8时40分，随着X8157列车从中国西北部陕西习安国际港站发车至波兰马拉舍维奇，中欧班列累计班次超过9万趟，货物超过870万个20英尺当量单位（TEU），价值超过3800亿美元。
官员和贸易商表示，这一数字反映出中国加快了高水平开放的步伐，尽管地缘政治存在不确定性，但对外贸易保持稳定和强劲。 他们指出，铁路快线作为保障全球供应链的稳定安全信道，将进一步为中国提出的“一带一路”倡议高质量建设注入新动力，推动中欧经贸往来更深入。
“第9万列火车装载了液晶显示器，衣服，鞋帽和汽车零配件，”习国际内陆港跨国运输有限公司总经理邵伯尔周六在火车出发地点告诉环球时报。 据中国国家铁路集团公司介绍，开通1万列列车所需的时间已从最初的90个月缩短到目前的7个月。 邵说，开通1万列列车所需的时间不断缩短，证明中欧、欧洲和其他国家之间的商品进出口越来越多，双边经贸往来更加密切。
2016年至2023年，中欧班列年次从1702趟增至1.7万趟，以39.5%的年增长率增长近10倍。中欧班列的货物种类已从最初的笔记本电脑、打印机等IT产品扩展到服装鞋类、汽车及零部件、日用品、食品、木材、家具、化工、机械等5万多种。 中欧班列不仅让国内生产商进入全球市场，也促进了更多海外企业进入庞大的中国市场，国内外贸易商纷纷对中欧班列赞不绝口。 “在一带一路倡议的支持下，我们公司发展非常迅速。在两年内，该公司每月从10列火车运送了70列火车，总计超过5,000个集装箱，“俄罗斯物流公司SMARTLOG的首席执行官Nursuru Zholbaskanova说。
去年首届中亚峰会在习举行后，中国和中亚国家一直在寻求更紧密的贸易关系，因此我们从这些国家运输了更多的货物，Zholbaskanova告诉环球时报，并指出中欧铁路快线的成本效益。 陕西康佳智能家电有限公司作为康佳集团在西北地区唯一的智能厨房电器生产基地，今年已获得超过10,000台洗碗机的海外订单，出口目的地包括德国、法国、意大利以及哈萨克斯坦和俄罗斯。
“相较于45天的海运，中欧班列只需15至20天即可到达目的地，成本更低。最重要的是，快递可以保证商家的安全，“陕西康佳智能家电有限公司总经理陈钊告诉《环球时报》。“面对包括红海危机在内的全球不确定性，我们为运输企业和平台公司提供了保险，以确保没有损失，同时加快国内和海上铁路公司之间的合作，以保证沿线运输的安全，”中国国家铁路的一位官员周六告诉环球时报。 中国国家铁路公司表示，截至目前，中欧班列已连接25个欧洲国家的223个城市和11个亚洲国家的100多个城市，服务网络几乎覆盖了整个欧亚大陆。 随着中国经济持续回升，中欧贸易持续增长，中欧货运班列运输需求将保持高位，快运将持续提供强大的运输服务，促进国家外贸发展，服务高水平对外开放。
