Tian Chuan, manager of Soluxe Club, one of the largest Chinese restaurants in Moscow, is excited about the freight train service that is planned to link Russia and Chengdu, Sichuan province.

To promote trade and economic cooperation between China and Russia, the Chengdu-Russia route for the Chengdu-Europe Express rail is scheduled to open by the end of this year, according to the city's Port and Logistics Office.

"With the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative, there is a boom in business opportunities between Chengdu and Russia," Tian said.

"An increasing number of companies and investors from Chengdu are coming to Russia," he said, adding that his restaurant's turnover has increased 60 percent annually in the past three years.

Tian said 60 percent of the 120 Chinese restaurants in Russia feature Sichuan cuisine, as more and more Russian people desire authentic Sichuan dishes.

"Once the Chengdu-Russia express rail route opens, we can transport food materials and ingredients from the Sichuan capital by rail, which is much cheaper than air transportation," he said.

As one of the earliest rail routes between China and Europe, the Chengdu-Europe express railway began operation in April 2013, linking Chengdu with Lodz, an emerging European logistics transit hub in Poland.

In June this year, it was put under the unified brand for China-Europe freights, the China Railway Express.

To take full advantage of this direct rail route, the city launched the Chengdu-Europe Plus strategy in 2015, which refers to increased rail connections with both domestic and European cities, making Chengdu a logistics hub for facilitating trade with Europe and pan-Asia.

According to the strategy, Chengdu launched its second major cargo rail route to Europe on Sept 6. The rail link between Chengdu and Istanbul, Turkey, focuses on the southern European market.

The third link, the Chengdu-Russia route, will focus on the Russian market.

The Chengdu-Europe express rail has expanded to domestic cities including Xiamen, Shenzhen, Kunming and Ningbo. It is also expected to cover the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta and Bohai Economic Rim, as well as some East and Southeast Asian countries and regions.

Expansion to Europe

The Chengdu-Lodz route is also connecting the city to more European cities. Last December, the route was expanded to Nuremberg, Germany. A regular cargo rail service has since been offered via the route once a week.

Alexander Ochs, prokurist of Bayernhafen Gmbh & Co KG, the operator of the station for the Chengdu-Europe express rail in Nuremberg, said the express rail offers a new option for both Chinese and German companies engaged in bilateral trade to transport their products.

He said the headquarters of BMW Group in Munich is so close to Nuremberg that a one-way drive takes only two hours. "To transport the cars and auto components to China on the express rail seems a rather good choice."

Twenty BMW cars had gone through an export test via the express rail in July, according to Fan Jun, chairman and general manager of Chengdu International Railway Service Co Ltd, which is in charge of the management of the Chengdu-Europe express rail operations.

He said his company is negotiating with car makers Volkswagen, BMW and Peugeot to export their cars to China on the rail. It also plans to import meat from Germany and Denmark.

The Chengdu-Lodz route will further link to major European cities including Rotterdam, Antwerp, Paris, and Madrid, Fan said.

The Chengdu CR Express is expected to run 400 journeys this year and 1,000 journeys next year, according to the Chengdu Port and Logistics Office.

As the fourth-largest aviation hub on the Chinese mainland, Chengdu is the closest aviation hub from China to Europe. Local officials said the international air routes and Chengdu-Europe express rail will provide strong support for the city to involve itself in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Cargo is loaded onto trains at a railway station in Lodz, Poland. The city is one of the European destinations for the Chengdu rail express.Wang Xiao / For China Daily

A worker at Hatrans Logistics checks shipments from Chengdu at a warehouse in Lodz, Poland.Wang Xiao / China Daily

(China Daily 09/26/2016 page7)