A train of China Railway Express to Europe carries anti-virus equipment from Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province to Madrid, Spain in June Photo: Xinhua

Despite the persistent native impact of COVID-19, the China-Europe Railway Express posted strong growth momentum in its ninth year of operation, playing an increasingly important role in maintaining global industry and supply chain stability, China's top economic planner said.

As of the end of July, 57,000 China-Europe Railway Express trips had been made, transporting 5.3 million standard containers worth of goods valued at nearly $300 billion. The network of 82 routes covers 24 countries and 196 cities in Europe, according to data from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

In the first half of the year, China's foreign trade with the 24 countries reached 3.45 trillion yuan ($508 billion), up 7.3 percent year-on-year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

Xu Jianping, director of the Department of Regional Opening-up at the NDRC, said at a press briefing on Thursday that the trains boosted production resumption in relevant countries and strengthened emergency support for international logistics, and they have become increasingly important in ensuring the security of international industry and supply chains.

While sea and air shipments were hindered after the COVID-19 outbreak, domestic operators of the China-Europe Railway Express actively engaged with enterprises for their export needs and customized special trains for groups of companies, including household appliance producer TCL, PC giant Lenovo and Geely Auto, Xu said. A total of 1,150 customized special trains have operated so far in 2022, which effectively eased disruptions on the international industry and supply chains, he said.

Shanghai EPU Supply Chain Management Co is an agent for China-EU freight trains that has been engaged in trading business between China and Europe for a decade. Tommy Tan, president of the company, told the Global Times on Thursday, "an increasing number of international customers favor the freight train services."

Since 2018, Shanghai EPU Supply Chain Management Co has used one train per week to deliver goods between Nuremberg and Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, with 41 cars for each train, and it has imported all accessories except batteries and air bags for BMW vehicles.

The Shanghai-based company also plans for Porsche to transport goods from Europe to southwestern China, and directly use the China-Europe freight train to move from Bremerhaven to Chengdu and Chongqing, instead of the traditional ro-ro ship from Bremerhaven to Shanghai.

The fast development of the China-Europe Railway Express is mainly attributed to the mutual recognition of inspection and quarantine, while connections with inland ports such as Southwest China's Chongqing city and Duisburg of Germany make it more efficient for the distribution of goods, Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Thursday.

In addition, countries along the route can give full play to their comparative advantages, he said, noting that, for instance, Chongqing exports high value-added products like mobile phones and car components to Europe, while returning trains carry agricultural products.

As an innovation for international transport services, the freight fees for China-Europe Railway Express are only 20 percent of air transport charges, while travel time is only one-quarter of sea shipment, according to a report on the development of the China-Europe Railway Express released by the NDRC on Thursday.

Amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis, countries along the route of the China-Europe Railway Express have joined hands to prevent risks and maintain the sustainable running of the freight trains. "The number of China-Europe freight trains experienced a slight drop in March and April after the outbreak of Russia-Ukraine crisis, but the operation swiftly rebounded in May and returned to the pre-crisis level in May and June," Xu said.

Despite the headwinds of the pandemic and the geopolitical tensions, countries along the route continue to work hard to maintain smooth operation of the train service, according to industry insiders.

An employee surnamed Huang from China-Euro Railway International Logistics told the Global Times on Thursday that some freight trains departing Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province that have been delayed, are expected to resume operations in August.

Tan said that he still holds firm expectations for the cross-border train service, just like in the beginning of his career, which has helped his trade business flourish, and the service will stay resilient.