A China-Europe freight train carrying medical supplies bound for Madrid of Spain departs the city of Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 5, 2020.Photo:Xinhua

A freight train left Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province for Madrid, Spain on Friday, carrying 100 containers of daily commodities and personal protective equipment (PPE), marking the 400th freight train running on the China-Europe freight railway this year. 

The Yiwu-Madrid railway has become an important logistics channel to ensure trade exchanges and transportation of epidemic prevention materials between China and Europe as international shipping has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, according to Yiwu-based International Landport Group.

From January 1 to July 31, 33,452 containers were transported via the Yiwu-Madrid railway, one of the key routes on the China-Europe Railway, up 211.1 percent year-on-year amid the coronavirus pandemic, statistics showed.

In the first half of the year, the number of China-Europe freight trains and business volume grew against the trend, with growth rates exceeding 25 percent and 20 percent from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Transport.

The port cargo throughput reached 6.75 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 0.6 percent. The growth in the second quarter was 5.2 percent, maintaining growth for three consecutive months since April.

Global Times