Freight train becomes key link between China, Europe

The China-Europe freight train, a hallmark of the Belt and Road Initiative, has become a vital bridge for trade and connectivity between China and Europe, playing an increasingly important role in promoting open cooperation, mutual benefit and economic integration among participating countries.

The X8083 train — loaded with goods such as electronic products, home appliances, auto parts and daily necessities — is making its 100,000th trip to Europe from China.It departed from Tuanjie Village Station in Chongqing on Nov 15 and is en route to Duisburg, Germany. It is scheduled to arrive in the German city on Tuesday.

Once it arrives, the freight train will have successfully transported more than 11 million twenty-foot equivalent units of goods, valued at over $420 billion.

Since its launch in 2011, the service has significantly transformed global trade, improving connectivity between China and Europe. It has maintained a strong record of safe, stable and efficient operations, becoming an essential part of the international logistics system.

The achievement highlights the rapid growth of the rail corridor connecting China and Europe, facilitating the smooth and reliable movement of goods between continents.

"The China-Europe freight train service is an important carrier for open cooperation and mutual benefit among the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. It has created a new, all-weather, high-capacity, green and low-carbon transportation route that has become a popular international public good," said Li Chao, deputy director of the policy research office of the National Development and Reform Commission.

The China-Europe freight train service is less affected by natural environmental factors, offering higher stability. Its cost is only one-fifth of air freight, and its transit time is one-quarter that of sea transport, which makes it highly favored by many clients, he added.

Last year, the value of goods transported via the China-Europe freight train accounted for more than 7 percent of the total trade between China and Europe.

"The China-Europe freight train was established in response to the steady growth of trade between China and Europe and further strengthened by the Belt and Road Initiative," said Wang Yangkun, head of the Transport Technology Development Research Center at the National Development and Reform Commission's Institute of Comprehensive Transportation.

Despite challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis, the service has demonstrated resilience and has grown into a vital artery for cross-border transport and logistics between Asia and Europe, he added.

Wang also noted that the key advantages of the service include shorter transit times, lower costs compared with air freight, significant savings in inland logistics and an extensive service network. Over the past 13 years, the China-Europe freight train service network has rapidly expanded from several routes to a fully integrated network covering most of the Eurasian region. The service now covers 227 cities in 25 European countries and over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries. This broad and expanding network has transformed the logistics landscape between China and Europe, offering more options for businesses across diverse regions. An increasingly diverse variety of goods are also transported via the service. The China-Europe freight train transports more than 50,000 goods spanning 53 categories, including automobiles, machinery, electronic products and epidemic prevention materials, according to China State Railway Group, which manages and oversees the service.