Industry Trends

Departing from Chongqing:

In 2011, driven by national regional policies and the demand for China Europe trade services, Chongqing took the lead in opening direct trains to Europe, which was then called the "Chongqing Xinjiang Europe" international railway.

Afterwards, Chongqing's outward oriented economy grew at an average annual rate of 30%, more than half of the Fortune 500 companies settled in Chongqing, and the foreign trade container processing capacity at Tuanjie Village Port increased at an average annual rate of more than 10%, making Chongqing, located in the inland hinterland, gradually become a transit station for China's exports to Europe, promoting Chongqing's transformation into an inland international logistics and trade hub.

Ten year transcript:

In the past 10 years, the annual number of China Europe freight trains has increased from less than 20 to over 12000, with a total of 33600 trains operating, transporting nearly 3 million TEUs of containers, and transporting goods worth over 160 billion US dollars. The time of the China Europe freight train is one-third of that of sea freight, and the price is one-third of that of air freight, which is its advantage.

In the past two years, the outbound heavy container rate of trains has basically reached 100%, and the return rate is around 50%. At present, the operating speed of the train has reached 1300 kilometers per day, and the domestic section only takes 58 hours to operate, reducing the total transportation time by 12% to 20% compared to earlier periods.

'Life Channel':

During last year's epidemic, the train transported 9.39 million pieces of epidemic prevention materials to more than 20 European countries.

Due to the fact that the train does not involve cross-border personnel movement, it is a powerful substitute for sea and air transportation, and has become a vital channel for international cooperation in the fight against the epidemic. It has played a positive role in stabilizing the international supply chain and promoting resumption of work and production.

significance:

The opening of the China Europe freight train has promoted the utilization of logistics networks in inland European countries, provided new transportation routes for European merchants, and also expanded the sales channels for local products.

For China, the train has made inland cities "coastal" and promoted industrial upgrading in inland cities such as Chongqing, making it a new highland of openness.

future:

How will the China Europe freight train more efficiently unleash its potential in the future?

Industry insiders believe that the development of China Europe freight trains has gone through three periods. The first period was export driven. Like Chongqing in the past, it participated in international supply chain capacity cooperation. The second period is driven by the scale of transportation volume. The outbound transportation volume has increased, but the contradiction in the return empty container rate has become prominent. The third period is driven by new trade. To alleviate the imbalance between sending and arriving, the train has started to introduce new services that integrate transportation and trade, which has a positive effect on promoting trade balance between China and Europe.

In the future, trains will also need to focus on information connectivity, dataization, rule systems, document circulation, and other aspects to achieve more efficient connectivity and unleash the potential of trains.

Reprinted/China Daily website