Central Asian trade on track with intl train

International freight train Chang'an is preparing for its return trip to Xi'an from Almaty, Kazakhstan, a journey that promotes trade and transport between China and countries in Central Asia.

"The return trip will bring back Kazakhstan-made goods and our residents in Xi'an can taste the high-quality rapeseed oil produced in Kazakhstan," said Yang Mingrui, director of the administrative committee of the Xi'an International Trade and Logistics Park, where the train started.

According to Zhang Yi, chief of Xinzhu Railway Station in the park, the train started making trips from Xi'an to Almaty on Nov 28, 2013. To date, 111 trains with 5,716 carriages have run to the Central Asian country.

"We have cumulatively shipped 140,000 metric tons of goods to Central Asian countries, with total value of about $185 million," Zhang said.

The railway chief said that the international freight train has a set timetable with eight trains in service on a monthly schedule and the railway has become a convenient and efficient shipping channel along the proposed Silk Road Economic Belt.

"The goods originate from throughout Shanghai, the Ningxia Hui autonomous region and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei and Zhejiang. A large number of industrial materials, machinery and equipment, spare parts, food and light industrial products are shipped to five countries in Central Asia," Zhang said.

The Chang'an international cargo train route has one trunk line stretching 9,850 kilometers from Xi'an to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and two branch lines that stretch 7,251 km to Moscow, Russia, and 3,866 km to Almaty, Kazakhstan, or 5,027 km to Zhem, another destination in Kazakhstan.

The Chang'an train is the first on the route to only offer cargo transportation.

Li Zhao, president of the Western Institute of Modern Logistics Development, said the launch of the Chang'an international cargo train is a pioneering project of Xi'an and Shaanxi, and a milestone in the history of China's international rail freight industry.

Previously, large engineering machinery and equipment were transported by road or sea, which was more expensive and time-consuming. The Chang'an cargo train cuts costs by about 30 percent compared to highway transport.

Yang said the logistics channel to Central Asian countries and Europe developed by the freight train were important for the economic development of Xi'an as an inland city and other inland regions.

"We have built a comprehensive bonded zone in our park and provide very efficient services for bonded import declarations," Yang said.

"With the train and the logistic channel, we will increase efforts to develop the Belt and Road Initiative and further promote trade and cooperation between China and countries in Central Asia and Europe."

Contact the writers at luhongyan@chinadaily.com.cn and malie@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/22/2015 page15)