Record number of trains carry cargo between China and Europe
November 21, 2017 Category Belt & Road, Weekly
The number of freight trains traveling between China and Europe hit record levels, according to the China Railway Corporation (CRC), indicating growing economic ties between China and economies participating in the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative. Still, economies along the B&R have yet to make full use of the trains to ship their products into the booming Chinese market.
The number of the trains hit a new annual record this year after initially being put into operation in 2011. This year, over 3,000 freight trains have traveled on 57 lines from China to European cities, topping the combined numbers reached in the 2011-16 period and pushing the aggregate to more than 6,000. The cargo service, considered a significant component of the B&R, now serves as a bridge between 35 Chinese cities and 34 cities in 12 European countries.
The freight rail routes help cut logistics costs and improve trade efficiency between China and Europe – its largest trading partner – and more importantly serve to prove the viability of the B&R initiative as an enabler of trade connectivity, experts said. In the first 10 months of the year, trade between China and Europe denominated in the Chinese currency grew 16.2% year-on-year, according to Chinese customs data.
There are other projects such as the yet-to-be-finished transcontinental expressway linking Lianyungang in Jiangsu province and St. Petersburg in Russia. The Chinese section of the transcontinental expressway recently opened to traffic.
Some experts, however, worry that the cargo trains and expressways might aggravate imbalances of trade between China and some B&R economies. The volume of cargo is still unbalanced with a significant number of China-bound cargo trains carrying empty or partially loaded containers on the return journey.
Ma Bin, Assistant Researcher at the Center for Russia and Central Asia Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times that resources and networks need to be optimized to save costs and achieve efficiency. “It is particularly urgent to create domestic distribution centers and regional ones along the route to coordinate the flow of goods,” he said.
Since the Harbin-Europe line was launched in June 2015, there are now four lines from Harbin to European cities, with 642 trains carrying a total of 37,268 containers. Among the trains, 311 were Europe bound and 331 China bound. Europe bound trains mostly carry vehicles and components, machinery, electronics and daily necessities. China bound trains mostly carry autos and components, and paper pulp.
A total of 264 cargo trains have traveled on the Yixin’ou cargo line (Yiwu-Xinjiang-Madrid), carrying 21,536 containers by the end of October, the Global Times reports.
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