Cr express carries weight of expectations

Rail freight services linking Chinese cities with destinations across Eurasia seen as critical to boosting trade and economic ties

The trees and plants exported by Sichuan Heshengde Import and Export Trade Co used to spend up to 35 days in transit before they reached their destination markets in Europe.

After being loaded onto a truck at the company's base in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, the plants were driven to Xiamen Port on the southeast coast and transferred to a ship, which crossed the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea before docking in Europe.