A freight train dedicated to transporting high-quality household appliances made in Shandong such as washing machines and refrigerators took to the road slowly, and is scheduled to arrive in Moscow in 18 days. After ten-odd minutes, another train dedicated to transporting imported grains, which was loaded with more than 1,600 tons of high-quality feed grade wheat flour, reached. The two China-Europe freight trains in the multimodal transport center of Qingdao-based SCO Demonstration Area (SCODA) epitomized mutual efforts to transport goods across international boundaries. The two trains, albeit in opposite directions, have shown high-efficiency “hub-to-hub” coordination among Qingdao China-Europe freight train collection and distribution centers at home and abroad, and serve as vivid evidence of increasing economic and trade ties between China and other SCO member states.

Since the inception of the China-Europe freight train service in Shandong Province in October 2018, the SCODA has seen the departure of a combined total of over 4,600 China-Europe freight trains, accounting for one third of the province’s total number. As of August 25, this year has seen the departure of 449 China-Europe freight trains from the SCODA, which transported more than 46,900 TEUs, a 29.2% year-on-year increase and a new record high.  (Zhou Jianliang)

The “SCO Express” China-Europe freight train, dedicated to transporting household appliances for export, departs from Qingdao.