Trade grows with better links

China Railway Express freight trains are a key part of connectivity initiative

One early morning in April, a cargo train departs from the Shilong Railway International Logistics Base in Dongguan, in Guangdong province, heading for the Russian capital Moscow.

It takes 15 days for the train, loaded with mobile phone accessories, machinery, toys and other items, to cover 4,400 kilometers to Manchuria, in Inner Mongolia, and then travel another 6,600 kilometers to its destination in Russia.