Work Together to Build China Railway Express (Xi'an) Collaboration Center and Boost High-Quality Development of "Xiangyang-Xi'an-Europe" Trains

On March 24, 2021, a "Xiangyang-Xi'an-Europe" international freight train loaded with 50 containers departed from the railroad logistics yard of Xiangyang GEMAC Logistics Park. This special train is laden with "Made in Xiangyang" auto parts, electronic equipment, anti-epidemic supplies and clothing and daily necessities, with a total value of about USD 3.57 million. Thirty-six hours later, the train will arrive at Xi'an Port to assemble and transfer, and then leave the country via Alataw Pass Port along the Lanzhou-Lianyungang Railway, together with the China Railway Express (Chang’an) train. The train will pass through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland and other countries and arrive at Duisburg in 15 days, and the whole journey takes 21 days.

The event was attended by leaders of the Xiangyang Municipal Party Committee, the Xiangyang Municipal People's Government, the administrative committee of the free trade zone, the commerce bureau, Xi'an International Land Port Investment & Development Group Co., Ltd. (ITL Group), the customs of X'an Railway Station, and the Xi'an branch of China United International Rail Containers Co., Ltd., as well as the relevant heads of local foreign trade enterprises in Xiangyang. A seminar on the high-quality development of "Xiangyang-Xi'an-Europe" international freight trains was held on the spot. All attendees witnessed this important moment when the government and enterprises sat together to talk about the development of the export-oriented economy.

According to Li Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Xiangyang Municipal Party Committee and vice mayor of Xiangyang, the ancient Silk Road started from Chang'an (now Xi'an) in the Western Han Dynasty and Luoyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Xiangyang and Xi'an, as important node cities on this road, were the hubs that people at that time had to stop by when they wanted to go to Europe via the Western Regions or go to sea via Cochin (now in northern Vietnam) and Fuzhou. In March 2019, Xiangyang International Land Port Investment Holding Co., Ltd. launched seamless cooperation with ITL Group to open the "Xiangyang-Xi'an-Europe" freight train, striving to build a top logistics trunk line spanning Europe's hinterland. In the past two years, with strong support from all parties, the "Xiangyang-Xi'an-Europe" train started stable and regular operations. Taking advantage of the unique advantages of international railway intermodal transport, this train assumed many tasks of transporting cargo from airplanes and ships to Europe, Southeast Asia and America. The "Xiangyang-Xi'an-Europe" train has helped build a safe, efficient and convenient international channel of import and export trade for exporting Xiangyang's commodities to Europe and importing European products, and has played an important role in enhancing Xiangyang's opening-up and integrating into the new development pattern of "dual circulation", in which domestic and overseas markets reinforce each other. In the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Xiangyang will make every effort to establish a backbone national comprehensive transportation hub. It will strengthen the aggregation effect of trade industries and build a new leading area for the open economy.

According to Qu Jinwei, Party committee secretary and chairman of ITL Group, Xi'an is the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and an important node city in the Belt and Road Initiative. In order to speed up the construction of China Railway Express (Xi'an) Collaboration Center, Xi'an International Trade & Logistics Park has opened 13 routes for domestic trains to assemble, including "Xiangyang-Xi'an-Europe", "Xuzhou-Xi'an-Europe", "Xiamen-Xi'an-Tashkent" and "Tangshan-Xi'an-Europe", providing solid support for the high-quality operation of China Railway Express (Chang'an). The"Xiangyang-Xi'an-Europe" train is a "domestic + international" freight train that has been opened to traffic earliest. It is a vivid demonstration of the integration of the governments of the two countries into the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It effectively promotes the rapid economic and trade development and industrial agglomeration in Xi'an and Xiangyang, connects the free trade zones of Shaanxi and Hubei closely, and realizes the seamless economic connection between the Hanjiang River Basin and Europe. Next, we will continue to further cooperation, make full use of the resource advantages of the two countries, and rely on the stable operation of the "Xiangyang-Xi'an-Europe" train to share mature logistics resources at home and abroad and the cooperation opportunities of international industry development and jointly build an international trade passage with high efficiency, low costs and excellent services.

The train departs from Xiangyang and transits at Xi'an Port. Its transportation cost equals that of sea transportation, but the transportation time is only half of that of sea transportation. It is reported that on March 22, 2019, Xiangyang International Land Port Investment Holding Co., Ltd. cooperated with ITL Group to open the "Xiangyang-Xi'an-Europe" train. Since the "Xiangyang-Xi'an-Europe" train was opened to traffic, it has maintained a regular weekly operation. Up to now, it has shipped a total of 1,936 containers. The opening of the "Xiangyang-Xi'an-Europe" train provides important logistics support for Xiangyang's enterprises and products to go global, and accelerates the construction of the China Railway Express (Xi'an) Collaboration Center, playing an important role in promoting the governments of the two countries to integrate into the BRI. Since the "Xiangyang-Xi'an-Europe" train was opened to traffic two years ago, it has achieved a growth in shipment volume under the severe foreign trade situation, and its comprehensive services have also been unanimously praised by enterprises!

After the event, both parties also negotiated and exchanged on matters such as the inter-zone transfer and mutual recognition of loading in special customs supervision zones.

In the future, ITL Group always adheres to the concept of high-quality and efficient development to build the China Railway Express (Xi'an) Collaboration Center, continuously improve the quality and frequency of trains of China Railway Express (Chang'an) and build the inland international trade passage featuring high efficiency, low costs and excellent services, making contributions to the construction of the BRI!