Chongqing - Chongqing is expanding its Asia-Europe Express freight service by combining the strengths of the China-Europe Railway Express and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC), creating a more efficient logistics link between Europe, China, and ASEAN markets, said Yang Lin, director of the Port and Logistics Office of the Chongqing Municipal Government, at a May 28 press conference.

Containers of the China-Europe Railway Express are being transferred at the Xiaonanya Railway Logistics Center in Jiangjin District, Chongqing. (Photo/Zheng Ran)

Yang said the route is a strategic channel for Chongqing to support its role as a key hub for inland opening-up. The service was upgraded from the previous ASEAN Express and uses Chongqing as a logistics hub linking Central Asia and Europe to the west, Russia's Far East to the north, and the Indochina Peninsula and ASEAN countries to the south.

The Asia-Europe Express now operates regular two-way services on three main routes linking ASEAN countries via Chongqing with Duisburg in Germany, Moscow in Russia, and Almaty in Kazakhstan. The network covers more than 40 overseas nodes across Eurasia, with total transport distances ranging from 10,000 to 13,000 kilometers and transit times of 20 to 25 days.

Yang said the service has developed four core advantages: unified operations, improved transport efficiency, integrated services, and low-carbon development.

Under the unified operating model, Chongqing has leveraged its role as an operating center for the ILSTC and a consolidation center for China-Europe freight trains. Service providers, including the ILSTC operating company and Yuxinou, the Chongqing-Europe railway operator, have formed a joint operating body to offer full-process services through a single commission. Yang said the model allows unified booking and pricing across ASEAN, European, and Central Asian markets, reducing intermediate links by more than 30%.

Overseas, Chongqing has integrated resources, including companies in Laos and Thailand and warehouses in Duisburg, Germany, to provide storage, short-distance transport, and customs clearance services. Yang said this has extended service coverage from "station-to-station" to "door-to-door," cutting comprehensive logistics costs by about 20%.

The city has also used scheduled freight services to improve reliability. Yang compared full-timetable trains and scheduled trains to "freight versions of subways," with fixed stations, routes, and arrival times. He said that punctuality and stability have reached over 95%. At Chongqing's Tuanjiecun railway hub, transshipment time for Asia-Europe Express cargo has been reduced to about one hour.

Digital services are also being expanded. Chongqing is using the Digital ILSTC platform to coordinate with seven border ports, including Alashankou and Pingxiang, and 10 overseas stations, including Duisburg and Yen Vien in Vietnam. The system enables full-chain cargo tracking from booking to delivery.

From January to April, shipments on the Asia-Europe Express rose 69% year on year. Cargo categories have expanded to more than 100 types, including vehicles and auto parts, medical devices, and cold-chain food.

Sun Xiyong, deputy director of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, said the Asia-Europe Express is also supporting exploration of land-based trade rules through multimodal transport "single document" and digital bill of lading practices. Chongqing has issued more than 47,000 such bills of lading, covering five forms of multimodal transport.

ASEAN (Chongqing) International Business Center, Shapingba District, Chongqing. (Photo/Zheng Ran)

Sun said the route is turning logistics advantages into trade growth. In the first quarter, Chongqing's imports and exports with ASEAN reached 36.48 billion yuan (about 5.38 billion U.S. dollars), up 30.2%, while trade with the European Union reached 29.18 billion yuan, up 31.8%.

Zhou Jun, deputy director of Chongqing Customs District, said customs clearance has also become faster through digital yard management and a 24-hour appointment-based clearance mechanism. He said customs supervision for transshipment cargo, which previously took about half a day, can now be completed within one hour.

Liu Taiping, general manager of China Logistics Group, the core operator of the Asia-Europe Express, said the route is intended to support industrial development, not only cargo movement. He said the company will promote integrated logistics, trade, and industry services, attracting processing, distribution, and supply chain projects to Chongqing.