The European Silk Road Summit hosted by Promedia Group in the Netherlands was held online recently. Transport and logistics enterprises and industry practitioners from many countries in China and Europe have in-depth exchanges on the important contributions and development prospects of China-EU trains. About 250 participants also held “one-on-one” online negotiations and reached a number of cooperation intentions.
In the face of the challenge of the epidemic, the China-EU train has become the “life channel” for China-EU anti-epidemic cooperation, providing important support for maintaining the stability and smooth supply chain of the international industrial chain. As of November 5, China-EU trains had 10,180 this year, which is more than the volume of last year’s whole year; the transportation network has reached 21 countries and 92 cities in Europe; and nearly 8 million pieces of medical supplies have been transported, a total of more than 60,000 tons.
“In the process of fighting against the epidemic, the China-EU train has played an irreplaceable and important role.” Mayovi Van Leyen, editor-in-chief of the International Railway Freight News Network, said that the COVID-19 epidemic has seriously hit the world economy, and many European countries have been affected by the epidemic, with shortage of materials and economic downturn. The number of China-EU trains and the total number of goods sent have increased unabated, and have become an important channel for the transportation of epidemic prevention materials and promoted cooperation among countries in the fight against the epidemic.
“Over the past few years, we have seen the idea of many European countries connecting rail freight to China become a reality. Kong Siche, Consul General of the Dutch Consulate General in Chongqing, said in his speech that more and more European cities now have regular China-EU trains.
“The number of trains on the Chengdu–Tilburg line in China-Europe has been increasing since its official opening in 2016,” said Roland Verblak, general manager of the Dutch GVT Logistics Group. In the field of international logistics, the competitiveness of China-EU trains is very obvious. During the epidemic prevention and control period, this advantage is more prominent. As China-EU e-commerce trade expands day by day, we will continue to increase trains in the future.
Van Lane has long been engaged in journalism in the international railway freight industry. In his view, China-Europe trains, with its unique logistics advantages and strong transportation system, provide momentum to stabilize the supply chain of the global industrial chain and promote the recovery of the world economy.” European enterprises are optimistic about the development prospects of China-EU trains and show strong interest in participating in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and sharing development opportunities.
“The joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative has brought great development opportunities to the countries along the route. The spirit of peaceful cooperation, openness and tolerance, mutual learning and mutual benefit and win-win has been more and more recognized and supported.” Anthony Hannaberg, director of the Dutch Belt and Road Research Center, said that the Netherlands has established close contact with many places in China relying on important logistics hubs such as Rotterdam and Tilburg. The level of interconnection between the two sides has reached an unprecedented height, injecting new vitality into the economic and trade cooperation between the Netherlands and China.
