NANJING - China has opened a cargo train service linking eastern city port of Lianyungang and Almaty, the financial and technological hub of Kazakhstan.

The first train of nearly 100 containers left Lianyungang in East China's Jiangsu province on Wednesday and will arrive in Almaty in 12 days.

Two trains will depart each week, passing through Khorgos in Xinjiang , said Liu Bin, general manager of China-Kazakhstan logistics international.

The train will carry medical supplies, auto parts, daily necessities and electronic products from southern parts of China, Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea.

Two trains will leave Almaty for Lianyungang each week carrying ferro-alloy, potash fertilizer and wheat, he added.

"The transportation time and cost can both be reduced by the cargo train, which will boost the proposed Silk Road economic belt and the economies of the countries along the belt," Liu said.

Regular cargo train services linking China and other countries are already in operation. Last November, a cargo train service linked the eastern city of Yiwu, the world's largest wholesale market for small consumer goods, with Madrid in Spain.

Last April, the first regular cargo train left Southwest China's Chongqing municipality for Duisburg in Germany.