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A new China-Europe freight train linking Russia with Golmud, northwest China’s Qinghai Province, is about to set off in Golmud, Aug. 20, 2017 [Xinhua]
The train, loaded with containers of chemical, left China through the Alataw Pass in Xinjiang, and will pass Kazakhstan before reaching Perm, a Russian industrial city of a million people.
The trip covers about 6,360 kilometers and takes 10 days. Officials said transporting goods by train is about a month faster than by ship.
The new freight route is also part of China’s New Silk Road plan.
President Xi Jinping has championed what China formally calls the “One Belt, One Road” or OBOR, initiative to build a new Silk Road linking Asia, Africa and Europe, a landmark program to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects including railways, ports and power grids.
Beijing’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Thursday that 69 countries, from Ukraine to South Korea, have signed cooperation agreements with China on the joint development of the Belt and Road Initiative.
According to the NDRC, more than 4,000 cargo train trips have been made to ferry goods from China to Europe, with the trains passing through 31 cities in 12 European countries.
A freight route linking China’s eastern coast and London started operating earlier this year.
TBP and Agencies
