China's Jiangsu reports record number of China-Europe freight train trips in 2022

The first China-Europe freight train bound for Tilburg from Nanjing, capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province, arrives in Tilburg, the Netherlands, June 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

NANJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- East China's economic powerhouse Jiangsu Province handled 1,973 China-Europe freight train journeys in 2022, an increase of 9.6 percent year on year and hitting a record high, local authorities have said.

Five cities in Jiangsu, including Nanjing and Lianyungang, are now operating 23 routes, reaching nearly 80 cities in Europe, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.

Due to global headwinds and the COVID-19 pandemic, international logistics and transportation have been hindered in recent years, so the China-Europe freight train service has effectively filled the gap between supply and demand in these fields, said Wang Jianjun, general manager of an international freight train company in Nanjing.

The freight train service has also boosted friendly exchanges at the regional level, according to Jiangsu's foreign affairs department. The province has inked 354 international sister-city partnerships with 64 countries.