On March 7, a CRE loaded with machinery, vehicles and spare parts waited to depart in Chongqing, southwestern China. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

Edited by QI Liming

A few years ago, American think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released an article The Rise of China-Europe Railways, in which it listed many challenges that the China-Europe Railway Express(CRE) had faced. However, the CRE has become the "main artery" of high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, facilitating connectivity. The CRE is now hailed as the "iron camel caravan" that connects the Eurasian continent. It is also a "stabilizer," ensuring the security of international supply chains in a turbulent world.

On the one hand, CSIS pointed out that viewing the CRE in broader trade terms, it yields a less dramatic picture. Railways still carry only a small fraction of trade between China and Europe. Maritime shipping remains dominant, and air freight carries more than 13 times the value of goods compared to rail. Meanwhile, infrastructure and environmental changes in the coming years could make it even more difficult for rail to compete.

However, as of 2023, this freight train had made 85,000 trips, connecting China to more than 100 cities in 11 Asian countries and over 200 cities in 25 European countries. In 2023, the CREs transportation cost between China and Europe was only 20 percent of air freight. The transport time is about 25 percent of the sea freight voyage, and the CRE trade volume exceeded 75 USD billion.

Spanish website Conqueror Freight Network mentioned in February that for numerous shipping companies, the CRE has emerged as a more dependable alternative to sea transport. This is attributed to the CRE's advantages in terms of speed and cost-efficiency. Rather than following a single fixed route, the CRE operates through a network of railways that traverse both continents.

The CRE operates along three major corridors, each catering to specific geographical regions and facilitating the transportation of goods between China and Europe. These three routes collectively form a comprehensive network that reflects the diverse geographical and economic landscapes of China, ensuring efficient and tailored transportation of goods to various European destinations. Notably, in the first half of 2023, the maximum load capacity of a single China-Europe freight train was increased from 2,500 to 3,000 tonnes.

On the other hand, in 2018, CSIS also said that in a broader trade context, the CRE presents a new offering that has not yet grown from niche to mainstream. If railways double their current share of trade by value, taking on 2.5 percent of China-Europe trade by volume, that would be a major development for those involved in rail.

In the past decade, the proportion of China's imports and exports value carried by CRE has increased from 0.3 percent to six percent. Chinese household goods and electronic products are popular in Europe, while European red wine, olive oil and rose oil have been warmly welcomed in the Chinese market.

Fu Cong, head of the Chinese Mission to the European Union, said on the Euractiv website that under the complex and turbulent geopolitical situation, especially since the outbreak of the Red Sea crisis, the CRE has stood out as a land-based alternative that provides rapid, stable, and reliable solutions to the massive flow of goods between the both sides.