Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 23, Title: China Europe Train Paves a New Route of "the Belt and Road" - Perspective of China's High Quality Development Highlights (6)

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

At 10:18 on July 29th, the 10000th China Europe train in China this year started: the X8020 China Europe train, loaded with 110 standard boxes of export goods, set off from Yiwu West Station with a whistle and sped towards Madrid, Spain.

On the ancient Eurasian continent, the "Steel Camels" continue to write the story of the Silk Road. From January to July of this year, China Europe Express has operated a total of 10176 trains and sent 1.104 million TEUs of goods, a year-on-year increase of 13% and 27% respectively.

After years of exploration and development, China Europe Express has entered the high-quality development track, becoming a convenient, safe, stable and green economic new mode of international transport organization, as well as a vivid practice of China's participation in global open cooperation and high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road".

(Subtitle) Cross Asia and Europe, Network Continuously Extends

Urumqi International Inland Port Area, with locomotives shuttling and non-stop operations: at the multimodal transportation center, front mounted cranes grab containers labeled "Made in China"; At the gathering center of the China Europe (Urumqi) train, a series of China Europe (Central Asia) trains have completed their reloading here, waiting for shipment

Starting from the gathering center of the China Europe Railway (Urumqi), take the China Europe Railway and travel westward along the ancient Silk Road. It takes 2 days to arrive in Kazakhstan, 8 days to arrive in Russia, and 16 days to arrive in the Netherlands.

According to data from China National Railway Group Co., Ltd., there are 86 China Europe trains operating at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour in China, connecting 112 cities in China, reaching over 200 cities in 25 European countries and regions, and over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries and regions along the route.

On July 2, a batch of auto parts from Rayong Province, Thailand, were transported by the China Laos Railway International Freight Train. They entered Yunnan from Mohan Port on the border between China and Laos, headed north, arrived in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and transferred to China Europe Express. They arrived in Budapest, Hungary after passing Kazakhstan, Poland and other countries.

This is the first transit freight train in the mode of "China Laos Railway+China Europe Express". The logistics time from Luo Yong to Budapest can be shortened to 15 days at the earliest, which is more than 15-20 days longer than traditional sea transportation, "said Li Jiye, the head of the Marketing Planning Department of the Freight Acceptance Service Center of China Railway Kunming Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

With the opening of the "Lancang Mekong Chengdu Europe Express Line" (Rayong Vientiane Kunming Chengdu Budapest), the China Laos Railway and the China Europe Train are connected, forming a new channel between South Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe.

(Subtitle) Improving both quantity and quality, helping the rapid development of the industry

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

According to Luo Yongfeng, Director of the Ganzhou International Inland Port Management Committee, relying on the platform advantages of Ganzhou International Inland Port, enterprises such as Gree Electric Appliances, Natural Home Furnishings, and Meike Home Furnishings have settled in Nankang District, Ganzhou City. Companies such as Maersk, Dafei, COSCO Shipping, and a large number of foreign trade supporting service enterprises have competed to settle in, gradually transforming Ganzhou International Inland Port into a hub port, logistics port, and trade port, winning the opportunity to serve and integrate into the new development pattern.

The local Nankang furniture industry cluster has achieved rapid development, with the output value increasing from 10 billion yuan before the construction of the port to 250 billion yuan by 2022. With the China Europe Express, more and more furniture factories are entering cross-border business, "said Shen Fei, Chairman of Jiangxi Jiayou Children's Furniture Co., Ltd. After the opening of Ganzhou International Land Port, the proportion of foreign trade in the company's business volume has increased to 70%

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

Entering Xi'an International Port Station, gantry cranes are transporting and loading containers one by one. The China Europe train Chang'an will depart from here and transport goods gathered from various parts of China to over 10 countries and regions in Asia and Europe.

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

Last year, Kangjia Group established the largest intelligent home appliance production base in the northwest region of Xi'an. Chen Zhao, General Manager of Shaanxi Kangjia Intelligent Home Appliances Co., Ltd., said that the China Europe Express, which has fast transportation time, wide route radiation, and higher stability, is an important reason for enterprises 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 by the China Europe Express (Xi'an)

(Subtitle) "Integration of air and ground", increasingly prominent radiation effect

At the Sany Group Intelligent Chemical Plant located in the Liangjiang New Area of Chongqing, the robotic arm dances and large automated material transportation vehicles shuttle. Here, a large excavator can be offline in about 17 minutes. We chose Chongqing because it can not only expand the Central Asian and European markets to the west based on the China Europe train, but also expand the Southeast Asian and South Asian markets to the south based on the new land sea channel in the west, and also take into account the domestic market through the golden waterway of the Yangtze River, "said the factory manager.

Compared with other land port hub cities, Chongqing's biggest advantage lies in its ability to achieve a 'free combination' of various international logistics channels such as water, land, and air, meeting different needs of enterprises. "said Li Jing, Vice President of Chongqing University of Technology and Executive Vice Director of the Yangtze River Upstream Economic Research Center.

In the hinterland of the Central Plains, the China Europe Railway (Zhongyu Zhengzhou) radiates over 40 countries and 140 cities overseas; Zhengzhou Airport has formed an international hub airline network spanning the three major economic regions of Europe, America, and Asia, covering major economies around the world; The first comprehensive cargo distribution center for air rail intermodal transportation in China, Zhengzhou Airport Station High speed Rail Logistics Center, has been delivered and operated... With a new model of "logistics+industry", Zhengzhou is cultivating a new economic growth pole.

The logistics industry, as a tertiary industry that connects production and consumption, is an important support for building supply chains, extending industrial chains, and enhancing value chains, "said Li Yumin, President of Henan Logistics Society and Vice Dean of Zhengzhou University School of Management.

The China Europe Express not only connects China with Europe and countries along the route, but also connects 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 intermodal transportation, new land sea routes in the western region, and the Yangtze River golden waterway; Through the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea rail intermodal transportation, and Rhine River rail intermodal transportation, it connects the UK, Nordic countries, Mediterranean coastal countries, and the hinterland of the European continent, basically covering the entire Eurasian continent, forming a "smooth and efficient, multi-directional extension, and land sea interconnection" channel pattern