Since October 2014, Changsha has handled more than 5,500 China-Europe freight trains. Over the past decade, the freight train service has expanded from several countries and cities to nearly 100 cities in 30 countries on the Eurasian continent. In particular, the number of China-Europe freight trains from Changsha to Minsk at its peak accounted for over 50% of the country's total number of freight trains to Minsk, making the Changsha-Minsk route a leading route in the country.
In October 2014, Changsha launched its first international freight train to Duisburg, Germany. In August 2018, the Changsha Municipal People's Government signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the central enterprise Sinotrans South China Co., Ltd. The China-Europe (Changsha) freight train service has begun to boom ever since. In 2021, the number of China-Europe freight trains handled by Changsha exceeded 1,000 for the first time. Additionally, indicators such as fully-loaded container rate, import and export balance rate, and transportation safety are at the national forefront.
The shift in the type of exported goods is also noteworthy. At the beginning, most of the exports were clothing, tea, machinery and equipment, chemical products, and building materials. Now, the exports have expanded to cover mechanical and electrical equipment, electronic products, complete automobiles and parts, and construction machinery.
The China-Europe (Changsha) freight train service has played a vital role in empowering Changsha's manufacturing sector. According to statistics, 702 customized China-Europe freight trains dedicated to products of Zoomlion, Sany, Sunward, Geely, Sinoboom, Foton and other local enterprises have been launched. A total of 18,200 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods from Hunan local manufacturers were transported via the freight train service in the first 10 months of 2024. The import and export value reached 1.157 billion USD, accounting for 49.63% of the total value of goods.
To improve the efficiency of customs clearance, the Central South China International Land Port Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Sinotrans South China Co., Ltd., provides a unified export declaration channel for small orders of small and medium-sized enterprises, allowing one-stop completion of customs inspection, railway security checks, and cargo release. The initiative helps address the problems of high costs and great transportation risks stemming from scattered shipments by enterprises.
Chen Hongsheng, deputy general manager of the Central South China International Land Port Co., Ltd., said that, compared with the previous customs transfer mode, the current customs clearance time has decreased by 24 hours, and the overall operation time has been shortened by 1 to 2 days.
This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.