According to the latest data, this year, the China-Europe Express (Xi'an) has run 5,139 trains, and Xi'an has become the first city in the country to exceed 5,000 trains per year. In addition to Xi'an, from January to November 2023, the cumulative number of China-Europe trains (Chengdu-Chongqing) has also exceeded 5,000, and nearly 50 routes have been stably operated in Chengdu, Sichuan and Chongqing.
From a national perspective, from January to November, a total of 16,415 China-Europe freight trains have been operated, sending 1.749 million TEUs of goods, and the volume has exceeded the total volume in 2022. Since its start of operation on March 19, 2011, the China-Europe Railway Express has frequently entered and exited all parts of the country, and has continuously set new records. Behind this, why does the China-Europe freight train continue to be favored by all over the world?
The number of open rows increased steadily
On December 15, the X9041 China-Europe train, loaded with 50 containers of e-commerce goods such as refrigerators, ceramic tableware, and wooden sofas, departed from Xi'an International Port Station and headed west to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. This year, the China-Europe Express (Xi'an) has run 5,139 trains, a year-on-year increase of 15.6%, about twice the national increase.
It is reported that since the first opening of the China-Europe Express (Xi'an) on November 28, 2013, a total of 21,193 trains have been opened. As of December 14, Xi'an has become the first city in China with an annual number of China-Europe trains exceeding 5,000 and a cumulative number of more than 20,000 trains, with an average of one China-Europe train departing or arriving from Xi'an International Port Station every 100 minutes.
At present, the China-Europe Express (Xi'an) runs 17 international trunk lines from Xi'an to Almaty, Tashkent, Hamburg, Moscow and the Trans-Caspian Sea to the west and north, covering the entire territory of the Eurasian continent; the "+ Western Europe" assembly line has also reached 21; to the east, the rail-sea intermodal transport trains from Xi'an to Qingdao, Ningbo and Lianyungang; and the southward to Vietnam, Laos and other interconnected trains, realizing the assembly and intersection of the east-west Asia-Europe land-sea trade corridor and the north-south westward land-sea new channel in Xi'an, and initially building a "oriented" The Belt and Road Initiative.
Not only in Xi'an, in January 2021, the China-Europe Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) was launched from Chengdu and Chongqing, and the first China-Europe Express brand jointly operated by two cities was born. From January to November 2023, the cumulative number of China-Europe trains (Chengdu-Chongqing) has also exceeded 5,000, and nearly 50 routes have been stably operated in Chengdu, Sichuan and Chongqing.
From a national point of view, the number of China-Europe trains is also growing steadily. From January to November this year, a total of 16,415 China-Europe freight trains were opened, sending 1.749 million TEUs of goods, an increase of 7% and 19% year-on-year respectively, with a comprehensive heavy container rate of 100%, and the volume has exceeded the total volume in 2022. At present, the China-Europe Railway Express has reached 217 cities in 25 European countries.
Strong ability to "bring goods".
Since March 19, 2011, the China-Europe Express has been in operation for more than 10 years, and has frequently driven in and out of all parts of the country, and has continuously set new records. Behind this, why does the China-Europe freight train continue to be favored by cities?
Yuan Shuai, executive vice president of the China Academy of Urban Development's Institute of Agricultural, Cultural and Tourism Industry Revitalization, told Beijing Business Daily that this is because the China-Europe Express provides a stable and efficient land transportation mode, "transporting goods from China to Europe, compared with sea and air transportation, the transportation time of the China-Europe Express is shorter, and it is not affected by weather and sea conditions, which can ensure the timely delivery of goods." Bai Wenxi, chief economist of IPG China, said in an interview with reporters that because the train is fixed at a fixed time and on a fixed route, it can avoid possible delays and uncertainties in air and sea transportation.
Cost is also an important reason why China-Europe trains are favored. Bai Wenxi said that compared with air and sea transportation, the transportation cost of China-Europe freight trains is lower and the time is more stable. According to some data, the running time of the China-Europe train is 1/4 of that of sea transportation, and the transportation price is only 1/5 of that of aviation.
However, the reason for more attention is the strong ability of the China-Europe Express to "bring goods". Yuan Shuai introduced that the opening of the China-Europe train not only promoted the trade between China and Europe, but also drove the economic development of cities along the route.
From Chongqing, it is reported that the cars of an automobile company in Chongqing have entered Central Asia and Russia, Germany and other European countries by taking the China-Europe train, and from January to November this year, the car company has exported 18,900 cars through the China-Europe train, an increase of 79% over the same period last year. Driven by the China-Europe Express (Chengdu-Chongqing), the hub economy of Chengdu and Chongqing has begun to take shape around the characteristics of electronics, automobiles, machinery and other iron-suitable industries. Chengdu International Railway Port and Chongqing International Logistics Hub Park rely on the train hub to bring together more than 7,000 business entities of various types, and the cumulative value of transported vehicles, electronic information, biomedicine and other goods exceeds one trillion yuan. The market of Chengdu and Chongqing has expanded to more than 100 countries and regions around the world.
Leverage export-oriented industries
"The China-Europe Express is an international railway intermodal train between China and Europe and the countries of the Belt and Road Initiative, which has the characteristics of transcontinental, cross-national, long-distance and large-volume transportation. With its advantages of high efficiency, fast and low cost, this mode of transportation has significantly increased its attractiveness to various cities in China, and has become an international public good widely recognized by countries along the route. Xie Xiaowen, a special researcher of the China Logistics Society, said in an interview with a reporter from Beijing Business Daily.
In Xie Xiaowen's view, the China-Europe freight train will not only help optimize the trade structure, but also significantly promote economic development. "For example, the export-oriented industries in Zhengzhou, Chongqing and other cities in Henan Province have achieved an average annual growth of about 30% after the opening of the China-Europe train. Xie Xiaowen said, "At the same time, the opening of the China-Europe Railway Express has promoted the economic development of countries and regions along the route, and injected strong impetus into deepening international cooperation in production capacity, accelerating the cross-border flow of factor resources, and promoting the development of the world economy." ”
Bai Wenxi also said that the opening of the China-Europe train has promoted international trade between China and Europe. "The train can quickly and safely transport Chinese goods to Europe, and at the same time, European goods can be transported to China, which not only promotes trade between China and Europe, but also promotes trade between countries along the route. ”
Nowadays, new business opportunities for China-Europe trade brought by the China-Europe Express are emerging. In January this year, the State Railway Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. jointly issued the "Opinions on Supporting the Development of the New Energy Vehicle Railway Transportation Service for the Development of the New Energy Vehicle Industry", which clearly and actively encourages railway transportation enterprises to carry out new energy commodity automobile railway transportation business. The China-Europe freight train is following the general trend and rapidly adding impetus to the new energy vehicle industry. On December 14, a China-Europe train loaded with 110 Great Wall Mocha new energy vehicles has departed from Tianjin Xingangbei Container Center Station in Dongjiang Comprehensive Bonded Zone, and will arrive at Moscow Krest Station about 18 days later, which is the first special train of China-Europe Express (Tianjin) to carry Chinese-made new energy vehicles exported to Europe.
Beijing Business Daily reporter Fang Binnan Ran Lili