Strategic corridor

China has been promoting the operation of China-Europe freight trains to ensure the secure, stable and smooth operation of the international supply chain.

During the COVID-19 pandemic especially, the trains, loaded with electronic goods, mechanical parts and daily necessities, departed from cities across China for Poland, Germany and other European countries.

They have played an important role as a strategic corridor between China and Europe.

Last year, the national railway network decided to provide services for the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, achieving remarkable results, according to China State Railway Group, the national railway operator.

Last year, 16,000 freight trains linking China and Europe operated in both directions, a year-on-year rise of 9 percent. The trains carried 1.6 million containers, up 10 percent year-on-year. In 2020, the trains made 12,400 such trips, carrying more than 1.13 million goods containers.

Since 2011, when the first China-Europe freight train departed from Chongqing and headed to Duisburg, Germany, the service has developed significantly, gradually becoming a calling card for transportation between China and Europe.

The service currently links 108 cities in China with 208 cities in 25 countries. In the past decade, more than 65,000 such trains have operated, carrying 6.04 million containers, China State Railway Group said.

This year, the number of China-Europe freight trains continues to rise. Last month, more than 1,000 China-Europe freight trains left China via landports in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Among them, 497 trains passed through the Alataw Pass Station carrying 1.11 million metric tons of cargo, a year-on-year rise of 12.8 percent, while 594 China-Europe freight trains passed through the station at Horgos Port carrying 818,000 tons of cargo, up 26.8 percent from the same month last year.