On May 12, the first Silk Road train with exclusive destination Antwerp has arrived. The freight train, which had left the Chinese port city of Tangshan on April 26, was welcomed at the Port of Antwerp on May 12. This direct train route between China and Antwerp is part of China’s transnational “Belt and Road Initiative” to revive the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road.

Belt and Road Initiative
The train is part of the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI), the ambitious development program of Chinese President Xi Jinping. It targets increased Euro-Asian connectivity through large infrastructure investments and restoration of the Silk Road, the historic trade route between Europe and the Far East, including the traditional maritime link and an efficient land bridge.

First direct train link between China and Antwerp
The train left the Chinese port city of Tangshan on April 26 and traveled through the border crossing of Alashankou, Kazakstan, Belarus, Poland and Germany, arriving after 16 days and 11,000 km at its final destination, the Port of Antwerp. It is the first train traveling directly from China to Antwerp.

The service is an initiative of Tangshan City and Tangshan Port, in cooperation with the China state shipping company Cosco Shipping Lines and China Railways (CRCT).

The recipient of the cargo is Cosco Shipping Belgium, which is responsible for transfer of the cargo to the end customer. The train transported a total cargo of 34 containers of industrial minerals which are used in different industries, such as paper and ceramics production, toothpaste and cosmetics. They are unloaded at Euroports, which will transfer them to its bulk terminal and distribute them further in Europe.

Luc Arnouts, Director International Networks, Port of Antwerp: “This direct train link puts our port on the BRI-map and will further strengthen our existing relationship with China. We have been working a long time on this and it is therefore an important milestone in our trade relations with China.”

Marc Van Peel, Vice Mayor for Port Affairs adds: “China occupies the fourth spot as Antwerp’s most important partner country with a yearly traffic of almost 14 million tons of cargo. Antwerp’s location is perfect on the maritime as well as rail link between Europe and China and our port can perfectly act as a transfer port for trade between China and Africa by rail.”

Geert Gekiere, Managing Director Euroports Belgium: “We are proud and honored to unload and handle the biggest cargo on the direct train between China and Antwerp. We encourage our customers to optimize their supply chain. Therefore almost all our terminals support road, rail and water links. Transport from the Tangshan area on traditional container ships takes on average more than 35 days, while on this train it only takes a record time of 16 to 20 days at relatively low cost.

Future cooperation
The local Chinese administration aims to have a direct train to Antwerp once or twice a month. Therefore Tangshan City hopes to have closer cooperation with the Port of Antwerp and wants to sign an MOU/sister relationship agreement with Antwerp. CRCT (China Railways) is examining the feasibility of opening a commercial office in Europe.