The “Steel camel train” on the Eurasian continent ushered in the 10th anniversary of its opening. What achievements have been made in the operation of China-Europe freight trains in the past 10 years? How to boost economic development? How will the future continue to accelerate? With these questions in mind, the reporter recently traveled along the Eastern line of the China-Europe Railway line from Lianyungang in Jiangsu Province, passing through the train assembly centers of Zhengzhou in Henan Province, Shenyang in Liaoning Province and Tianjin, and arrived at the railway port of Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia for research and interview.
At 5:40 PM on September 16, the X9014 China-Europe railway train departed from the Sino-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) logistics base in Jiangsu province, loaded with 100 TEus of generator sets, automobile tires, steel plates and other goods, leaving the Khorgos railway port in Xinjiang Province, passing through Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and other countries and regions, and arriving in Uzbekistan’s Raustan station eight days later.
As a junction of land and sea, Lianyungang is known as the “eastern starting point” of the new Asia-Europe Land Bridge economic corridor, and is an important window for smooth domestic and international double circulation. “The opening of Lianyungang’s China-Europe Express has not only promoted the development of foreign trade in the Yangtze River Delta region, but also attracted international goods from Japan, South Korea and other countries and regions to gather and transit here.” Yu Wujun, general manager of Shanghai branch of China Railway Container Transportation Co., LTD., said that goods from all over the world are taking the China-Europe railway to the distance, and the China-Europe railway has set up a bridge of international economic and trade cooperation, providing an important logistics channel for domestic and foreign enterprises to import and export goods.
Statistics show that since 2013, 77,000 China-Europe freight trains have been launched, carrying 7.31 million TEU of goods worth more than 340 billion US dollars. At home, China has formed three main transport corridors in the west, middle and east through the ports of Alashankou, Khorgos, Erenhot, Manzhouli and Suifenhe, with a speed of 120 kilometers per hour. The number of China-Europe freight train routes has reached 86, connecting 112 cities. Overseas, it has initially formed three major routes, North, central and south, connecting 217 cities in 25 European countries and regions, and more than 100 cities in 11 Asian countries and regions along the route.
While opening up a new land transport corridor between Asia and Europe, the China-Europe freight train has opened up a new situation in international transport cooperation. Compared with sea and air freight, the freight price is one-fifth of air freight, and the transportation time is one-fourth of sea freight, which is less affected by the natural environment and has high stability. Its average carbon emissions are one-fifteenth of air transport and one-seventh of road transport, playing an important role in tackling global climate change and promoting carbon neutrality.
With the launch of the China-Europe Railway Express, the value of China’s import and export with 25 countries connected to China has increased from 4 trillion yuan in 2013 to 7.42 trillion yuan in 2022, and the scale of trade has continued to expand, trade exchanges have become more convenient, and the level of opening-up has been constantly improved. Li Yang, Vice Minister of Transport, said that the rapid development of China-Europe Express trains has effectively enhanced the resilience of the international logistics supply chain, strengthened global transport cooperation, and promoted the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative.