Chongqing- In recent years, Chongqing has explored a channel for exchanges and cooperation with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members via the China-Europe Railway Express (Yuxinou), according to the relevant official from Yuxinou (Chongqing) Logistics Co., Ltd.
The 22nd summit of the SCO member states was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from September 14 to 16 and has provided an innovative and ideal model for international relations.
According to the official, since the first China-Central Asia freight train in 2018, nearly 15,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods passed through the China-Central Asia freight train of Yuxinou, valued at 3.5 billion yuan (about 500 million U.S. dollars).
The goods to Central Asia are communication equipment, vehicles, auto parts, machinery parts, and daily necessities, and the goods on the way back are mainly grain, metals, and minerals.
The Yuxinou now spans Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and other SCO member states. It has played a positive role in mail transportation, exploring the "Guantietong" cooperation project, and promoting trade and people-to-people exchanges with SCO countries.
The "Guantietong" project is a new customs clearance mode to improve customs clearance efficiency and continue to reduce the transportation cost of the China-Europe Railway Express, reducing the cost of cross-border trade between China and Central Asia, West Asia, and European countries.
Kazakhstan is the top route country and one of the critical sections of the Yuxinou, and also the top destination country and distribution center of the China-Central Asia freight train of Yuxinou.
The first integrated transport and trade grain special train from Kazakhstan was jointly launched by the China-Europe Railway Express (Yuxinou) and Kazakhstan in February 2019. (iChongqing/ Zheng Ran)
In 2014, the China-Europe Railway Express (Yuxinou) and Kazakhstan jointly completed the test of the China-Kazakhstan railway postal service, which was the first to break the 60-year ban on international railway postal service, laying a solid foundation for the regular operation of the China-Europe freight train postal service.
In March 2019, Chongqing-Uzbekistan Tashkent direct freight train service was launched. (iChongqing/ Zheng Ran)
The direct train between Chongqing and Uzbekistan's Tashkent has operated normally, and the exchanges between Chongqing and Uzbekistan have become more frequent. The freight artery connecting China and Tajikistan is under efficient use, helping foreign trade enterprises in Chongqing and its surrounding areas explore the market in Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries.
On September 15, 2021, the China-Europe Railway Express (Yuxinou) "China · Chongqing-Tajikistan · Dushanbe" departed from Chongqing Tuanjiecun Railway Station. (iChongqing/ Zheng Ran)
In July 2018, the first Chongqing-Minsk freight train was successfully launched. Chongqing and Minsk, the capital of Belarus, are two important node cities of the "Belt and Road Initiative." In the same year, the train has been in regular operation.
In January 2020, the China-Europe Railway Express (Yuxinou) completed Belarus's frozen beef cabinet experiment. (iChongqing/ Zheng Ran)
China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan signed the agreement on September 14 on the sidelines of a summit of the SCO in Uzbekistan, a long-anticipated agreement to push ahead with the construction of a railroad linking their countries.
The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway would shorten the route from China to Europe by 900 kilometers and cut eight days off the travel time. It will promote the deep integration between Central Asian countries and China, and even the European and Southeast Asian markets connected by the Yuxinou, and ensure the sustainable development of the "Belt and Road Initiative."