BRI to establish logistics system linking countries across globe: expert

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will set up a logistics system linking countries across the globe through the development of China Railway Express (CR Express), an effective measure for advancing global trade, said an expert.

CR Express has enabled China to shift from previously opening up eastward to opening up westward, said Wang Wei, director-general of the Institute for Market Economy at the Development Research Center of the State Council.

Wang Wei, director-general of the Institute for Market Economy at the Development Research Center of the State Council

The extension of the China-Europe railway lines and the increasing number of train trips have narrowed the distance between China and other regions including Central Asia and Europe, promoting more effective logistics connections and trade exchanges, Wang told the Belt and Road Portal in a recent interview.

According to Wang, China’s current logistics connectivity follows a  multi-channel development pattern, in which the CR Express has become a very important trade channel with well-developed logistical connections.

“CR Express services allow Chinese goods to enter advanced markets across the globe in a more effective manner,” Wang said.

For example, it used to take more than 40 days for goods from cities in central and west China to be transported to the European market by sea, whereas it now takes only around 10 days by the CR Express trains, she said. “This will boost the competitiveness of the goods in the region and further promote regional development by establishing connections with high-end markets.”

CR Express trains have also brought goods from European and Central Asian countries to China, allowing these countries to share China’s development opportunities, Wang said, adding that the volume of westbound and eastbound cargo on the China-Europe freight trains is becoming increasingly balanced.

“For instance, the cargo volume is quite large on returning trains passing through the Manzhouli port in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province,” Wang noted.

From the beginning of 2020 to the end of September, the Manzhouli port saw 1,229 returning China-Europe freight trains carrying nearly 110,000 containers, up 43.1 percent year-on-year, according to media reports.

“Through BRI development, it is of vital importance to establish a logistics system linking countries across the globe,” Wang noted. “This will not only ensure the stability of global industrial and supply chains, but also promote the smooth development of both domestic and international economic cycles, providing strong support for China’s new ‘dual circulation’ development pattern.”

In the future, the operation mode of the CR Express is expected to evolve from point-to-point to hub-to-hub, meaning that more cities in China will be transformed into major hubs for CR Express trains, Wang said, noting that such hubs will help to more effectively integrate goods from around the country and improve the quality of the freight trains’ operations.

“At the same time, I would suggest that CR Express services establish key logistics hub cities in Europe as well,” said Wang.

In this way, Chinese goods will be more effectively distributed using local logistics networks, which will also help accumulate and integrate European goods to achieve better balance between outbound and inbound CR Express trains, she said.