So far in 2024, the China-Europe Railway Express has made more than 2,600 trips, up 5.3 percent year-on-year, and more than 1,000 train trips have been launched in a single month for 46 consecutive months.

 

On Feb 14, the first full timetable China-Europe freight train in 2024 was launched from Xi'an Shaanxi province. It only takes 10 days to travel from Xi'an to Duisburg, Germany, two days shorter than 2023, and about a week shorter than the earliest train.

 

The full timetable China-Europe freight train has the fastest speed and the goods with the highest value among China-Europe freight trains. Its goods are dominated by high value-added products such as new energy vehicles, and the average value of each container is about 800,000 yuan ($111,150), 13 percent higher than that of ordinary trains. In 2023, the total value of goods carried by China-Europe freight trains exceeded $75 billion, up 50 percent from the average of the previous three years.

 

Behind the 85,000 trains was an expanding trade network. The construction of digital ports has been continuously improved. Now, when the customs clearance application is filed at the departure point of China-Europe trains, the freight can be released in seconds. Efficient customs clearance has helped the continuous expansion of the China-Europe freight railway network. The latest data shows that the China-Europe trains have now reached 25 European countries, connecting 219 cities from 217 in 2023.

 

From a single route to a whole network, the value of imports and exports carried by China-Europe freight trains has increased from 0.3 percent to 6 percent of the total China-Europe trade in the past decade, creating a new platform for economic and trade cooperation among countries along the routes.