The growing number of China-Europe freight train services is contributing to stabilizing global supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were a total of 15,000 freight train services linking China and Europe last year, a year-on-year increase of 22 percent, according to the China State Railway Group, the national railway operator.

They carried 1.46 million containers, an increase of 29 percent compared to last year.

During the pandemic, cross-border cargo services have played an important role in combating the virus and in stabilizing global supply chains, the group said.