The China-Europe freight train. Photo: VCG

The first China-Europe Railway Express train between Xiamen in East China's Fujian Province and Belarus started on Sunday, according to media reports, as the two countries have agreed to ramp up economic cooperation and trade exchange on the basis of friendship and mutual benefit.

The train, which departed from Xiamen on Sunday to head for Minsk, the capital of Belarus, was the first China-Europe Railway Express train linking Xiamen city and Belarus, according to a report by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

The train will travel through the Alataw Pass and arrive in Minsk after an expected 16-day trip or 10,540 kilometers, the report said.

Previously, shipments from Xiamen to Belarus went by sea and then road, which took a long time. The railway reduces the travel time by about 25 days. 

According to a report of the Xiamen Daily, the China-Europe Railway Express train that headed for Minsk on Sunday carried 50 containers of office goods, leisure shoes, kitchenware and other items with a total value of more than $3 million.

In the future, the trains might also bring some agricultural products from Minsk back to China, according to media reports. 

The line is another sign of the increasing economic and trade exchanges between China and Belarus, which will stimulate the demand from manufacturing companies in Xiamen and neighboring regions to ship more goods to Belarus.

Customs data showed that trade between China and Belarus surged by 27.9 percent in US dollars on a yearly basis in the first 10 months this year.

The two countries' economic relations are growing increasingly closer, as they decided to upgrade their bilateral relationship to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership.

In November, China donated a new batch of coronavirus vaccines to Belarus to help the nation fight the coronavirus pandemic, which was the seventh batch of COVID-19 vaccines China has donated to the European country, the Xinhua News Agency noted.

Global Times