Number of China-Europe freight trains exceeds 90,000, demonstrating China’s commitment to high-level opening-up

At 8:40 am on Saturday, with the departure of X8157 train from Xi’an International Port Station, Northwest China’s Shaanxi to Poland’s Malaszewicze, the cumulative number of China-Europe Railway Express services exceeded 90,000, with more than 8.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo representing a value of more than $380 billion.

Officials and traders said that the number reflects the country speeding up the pace of high-level opening-up, and that foreign trade remained stable and robust despite geopolitical uncertainty.

The railway express, serving as a stable and safe channel to ensure global supply chains, will further inject new impetus for serving the high-quality construction of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and promote deeper economic and trade exchanges between China and Europe, they noted.

“The 90,000th train is loaded with LCD monitors, clothing, shoes and hats, and automobile spare parts,” Shao Boer, general manager from Xi’an International Inland Port Multinational Transportation Co, told the Global Times on Saturday at the train departure site.

According to China State Railway Group Co, the time required to launch 10,000 trains has been shortened from 90 months at the beginning to seven months at present. The increasing speed of every 10,000 trains proves that more commodities are being imported and exported between Central Asia, Europe and other countries through the China-Europe freight trains, with closer bilateral economic and trade exchanges, Shao noted.

From 2016 to 2023, the annual number of China-Europe freight train trips increased from 1,702 to over 17,000, surging nearly 10 times with annual growth of 39.5 percent. The types of goods via the China-Europe freight trains have expanded from IT products such as laptops and printers at the beginning to over 50,000 different types, including clothing and footwear, automobiles and parts, daily necessities, food, timber, furniture, chemicals and machinery.

Traders both from home and abroad hailed the China-Europe Railway Express, as the trains have not only allowed domestic producers to access global markets, but also facilitated the entry of more overseas businesses into the huge Chinese market.

“With the support of the BRI, our company is growing very fast. Within two years, the company shipped 70 trains from 10 trains per month, totaling more than 5,000 containers,” said NursuruZholbaskanova, CEO of a Russian logistic company SMARTLOG.

After the first China-Central Asia Summit was held in Xi’an last year, China and the Central Asian countries have been eyeing closer trade ties, so we transported more goods from these countries, Zholbaskanova told the Global Times, noting the cost-effectiveness of the China-Europe Railway Express.

Shaanxi Konka Intelligent Home Appliances Co, as the only intelligent kitchen appliance production base of Konka Group in Northwest China, has received overseas orders for over 10,000 dishwasher units this year, with the export destinations including Germany, France, Italy as well as Kazakhstan and Russia. “Compared with the 45-day journey by sea, China-Europe freight trains need only 15 to 20 days to reach their destination and at lower costs. The most important is that the Express can ensure the safety of merchants,” Chen Zhao, general manager of Shaanxi Konka Intelligent Home Appliances Co, told the Global Times.

“Facing global uncertainties including the Red Sea crisis, we have provided insurance to transport enterprises and platform companies to ensure no loss, while accelerating cooperation between domestic and offshore railroad companies to guarantee safe transportation along the routes,” an official from China State Railway, told the Global Times on Saturday. So far, the China-Europe freight trains are connected to 223 cities across 25 European countries and over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries, with the service network covering almost the entire Eurasian continent, China State Railway said. As China’s economy continues to rebound and China-EU trade continues to grow, the transportation demand for China-EU freight trains will remain high, and the Express will continuously provide strong transportation services to promote the development of the country’s foreign trade and serve the high level of opening-up