🚄✨ Chinese President Xi Jinping has landed in France, marking the first leg of his state visit to three EU countries. This trip aims to strengthen China-Europe relations, providing stability and fostering global cooperation in these turbulent times.
China and the EU are powerhouse trading partners, with last year's trade in goods reaching a whopping $783 billion. Given the vast distance between them, efficient transportation is key to sustaining this growth.
⚓ However, recent geopolitical tensions have disrupted global maritime trade routes, which handle 90% of cargo worldwide. This has hit industries like automotive, electronics, and fashion hard, as they depend on timely deliveries. In contrast, rail transport across Eurasia is thriving, offering a reliable and stable alternative.
📈 The demand for faster rail transportation is rising, driven by the need to transport capital-intensive and time-sensitive products such as photovoltaic modules, new energy vehicles, batteries, electronics, machine parts, and plastic products.
Recent reports show that freight traffic between China and Europe has hit an all-time high in 2023, with 17,523 trips carrying approximately 1.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). This marks a 6% increase in trips and an 18% rise in TEUs year-on-year. Trade is also becoming more balanced, with 9,343 trips heading west and 8,180 trips east.
🌱 Additionally, the journey from Xi'an in China's Shaanxi province to Duisburg, Germany, now takes around 10 days—two days less than in 2023. Impressively, this rail service emits 15 times less carbon dioxide than air travel and seven times less than road transport, making it a greener choice for global trade.
📊 In the first two months of 2024 alone, China-Europe freight train trips increased by 9%, with 2,928 trips carrying a total of 317,000 TEUs, a 10% rise from the previous year. These numbers highlight the freight industry's ongoing growth and its shift towards more efficient and eco-friendly transportation solutions.
🌏 With rail links becoming faster and greener, the future of China-Europe trade looks brighter and more sustainable than ever!
