-
109,000 tons of anti-pandemic products shipped to Europe from China by rail as of July
-
Train service guaranteed the stability of international industrial and supply chains during the pandemic
-
Train trips per year surged from 1,702 in 2016 to 15,183 last year, carrying over 50,000 types of goods to 24 European countries
The China-Europe freight train service had carried some 109,000 tons of anti-COVID products to Europe by the end of July, a Chinese official said on August 18.
Xu Jianping, an official of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference in Beijing that while sea and air transportation were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, the train service effectively guaranteed the stability of international industrial and supply chains, Xinhua reported.
Xu called the train service “a passage of life” for the global anti-pandemic fight.
The China-Europe freight train service began operations in 2011 and has witnessed booming development, in particular, since the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Total annual train trips surged from 1,702 in 2016 to 15,183 last year, the report said.
With 82 routes reaching Europe, the trains now reach 196 cities in 24 European countries, transporting more than 50,000 types of goods including IT products, cars and parts, clothes, grain, wines, coffee beans, and timber.
The train service built a new logistics channel between Asia and Europe that operates around the clock, has a large carrying capacity, and is green, with low carbon emission, and safe, Xu said.
A report released Thursday by the office of the leading group on advancing Belt and Road development and China State Railway Group Co. Ltd. said the train service improved regional opening-up.
The service also expanded economic and trade exchanges, deepened international industrial capacity cooperation, and facilitated the improvement of people’s well-being in countries along the routes, according to the report.
The latest data showed the number of train trips in July surged 11% year on year to a record 1,517, with shipments of 149,000 20-foot equivalent units of goods, Xinhua said.
