On board the train were 20 million face masks, 45 million pairs of protective gloves, and other epidemic prevention products worth more than € 10 million.
According to the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer (SNCF), France’s national state-owned railway company, as the country has emerged from the worst situation of COVID- 19 pandemic, it chose to change the transport vehicle for anti-epidemic supplies bought in China from aircraft to trains. The cost is 30 times cheaper and the carbon emissions are 15 times lower, said SNCF.
Booming Against All Odds
According to the latest data released by the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., the number of China-Europe freight trains in operation in May reached 1,033, an increase of 43 percent year on year. The trains shipped 93,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of goods, up 48 percent year on year. In the first five months of this year, China-Europe freight railway saw a total of 3,953 trains carrying 355,000 TEU of goods going back and forth between China and European countries, an increase of 28.5 percent and 32 percent year on year, respectively.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, major economies across the world have been facing downward pressure since the first quarter this year. China’s GDP shrank by 6.8 percent year on year over the period when the country was most seriously affected by the epidemic. Japan witnessed its GDP fall by 3.4 percent, the Eurozone by 3.3 percent, and the entire European Union by 2.7 percent. The pandemic hit European countries and the United States even harder starting from March.
Against such a backdrop, both the number of trains in operation and the total amount of goods shipped along the China-Europe freight lines bucked the downward trend and rebound with robust momentum. What are the reasons behind this?
Advantages of Cross-Border Railway Transportation
Denne historien er fra August 2020-utgaven av China Today (English).
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra August 2020-utgaven av China Today (English).
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
A City with Vision for the Future
LOCATED on the edge of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at one of the farthest points in China from the sea, stands a city that began to embrace its great economic takeoff just 10 years ago.
Setting out on the Great Rejuvenation
THE centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was marked by a grand gathering held on July 1 at Beijing’s Tian’anmen Square.
A Similar History Has United Us
— Interview with Carlos Miguel Pereira, Ambassador of Cuba to China
The CPC's 100 Years of “Routine Miracles”
AT a grand ceremony commemorating the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at Beijing’s Tian’anmen Square on July 1, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, solemnly declared the completion of building China into a moderately prosperous society in all respects, the country’s first centenary goal.
An Open Xinjiang with Multi-Ethnic Beliefs
SINCE ancient times, Xinjiang has been a region where ethnic groups live together, religious beliefs are diversified, and many cultures coexist. Primitive religion and Shamanism were initially prevalent in the region.
Xinjiang in My Eyes
ON May 24, 2021, I boarded a flight to Urumqi from Beijing with a group of Chinese and foreign journalists to learn more about Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a vast territory that is home to many ethnic groups and diverse cultures. The visit has left me with lasting memories and a deeper understanding of the people and the region as a whole.
Stability and Development Are the Strongest Evidences of Human Rights
OVER the past months hostile elements in certain Western countries have trumped-up charges against China concerning human rights in Xinjiang, spreading lies about “forced labor,” “genocide,” and “religious oppression” in the region.
BRI Nexus Promoting Multilateralism in a Post-Pandemic World
BORN of centuries-long interactions between China and other civilizations along the ancient Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) appears as the quintessential manifestation of multilateralism on the world stage since the Second World War which was, sad to say, one of quite a different kind.
Tourism Boosts Rural Revitalization in Ili
THEY say you never know how big China is until you come to Xinjiang, and never know how beautiful Xinjiang is until you come to Ili.
Xinjiang's Cotton Industry Gets Smart
LOCATED in the northwest of China, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region boasts long hours of sunshine and ample water for irrigation — making the region geographically ideal for growing cotton. Cotton grown in Xinjiang, which has good coloration and long fiber, is favored in both domestic and foreign markets.
