A cargo train leaves for Europe from Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, in April. Photo: IC

China's state-owned railway operator said on Wednesday that the container utilization rate of China Railway Express (CR Express), or freight trains shuttling between China and Europe, has been increasing significantly over the past two years as the country put an emphasis on high-quality development. 

The proportion of loaded containers to all the containers transported has seen a marked improvement in 2018 and the first half of this year, China Railway Corporation (CRC), the country's top railway operator, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. 

In 2018, the ratio for outbound trips was 94 percent while that for returning trips was 71 percent. 

During the first half of this year, the ratio for outbound trips improved further to 98 percent with an 82 percent ratio for returning trips, according to data provided to the Global Times in a statement.

"Seen from a perspective of development, the ratios for loaded containers have been steadily improving," the CRC said.

The CRC's comments came after reports of outrageously low container utilization rates by some news outlets in China. A low utilization rate means freight trains are carrying nearly empty containers.

In some extreme cases, an entire train carrying 41 containers could have as many as 40 empty containers, according to media reports. 

Without directly refuting the report, the CRC said the issue of empty containers has indeed existed for some time as the CR Express service matured.

The CR Express is also known as the "Belt and Road on rail," and by the end of June, the CR Express rail had connected 53 European cities across 16 European countries, with more than 16,000 cargo trains on the network transporting vehicles, laptops, food items, garments, and small commodities.