China builds up rail freight with Europe

China will improve the operation of its freight train services with Europe during its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period by adopting more innovative management practices, deepening international cooperation and developing additional service routes, said government officials on Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference in Beijing, Liang Linchong, director-general of the department of regional opening-up at the National Development and Reform Commission, said the country will strengthen cross-border support mechanisms to enhance the global competitiveness of China-Europe freight train services.

Rail freight transportation has become a key pillar of Belt and Road cooperation over the past decade, with its expanding network, improving efficiency and growing trade value reinforcing connectivity across Eurasia, Liang said.

More than 50,000 varieties of products across 53 categories are transported using the freight train services, with the value of cargo accounting for a growing share in China-Europe trade, he added.

The evolving efficiency of the service has also made it an increasingly attractive option for time-sensitive shipments.

As Europe endured a record-breaking heat wave that fueled soaring demand for air-conditioners last month, many Chinese manufacturers shifted replenishment shipments from sea freight to rail freight, reducing transit times from about 40 days to around only 15, providing a faster lane for bilateral trade.

Wu Zhaoxin, head of freight transportation at China State Railway Group Co, said the national railroad operator will work with railway authorities along the designated routes to improve efficiency, pricing, service quality and innovation in the next step.

"Priority will be given to expanding scheduled services, strengthening coordinated pricing, developing new transportation equipment, and enhancing cargo security through closer cross-border cooperation and smarter tracking technologies," Wu said.

Starting in 2025, China State Railway Group Co rolled out 40-foot containers for nonhazardous liquid cargo and large containers for vehicle shipments to expand transportation options.

Since the China-Europe railway freight express was launched under a unified brand in June 2016, the service has maintained safe and stable operations while evolving into a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The cumulative train trips to date have exceeded 130,000, transporting goods worth more than $520 billion, according to data from the NDRC.

As of June, the train load factor has remained at 100 percent for 46 consecutive months, while return services are now operating at nearly the same level as outbound trips, reflecting a more balanced flow of trade, the data showed.

According to Chengdu Customs, China-Europe freight trains to and from the capital of Sichuan province transported 922,000 metric tons of import and export goods in the first half of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 17.9 percent.

The services included cross-border e-commerce trains and cold-chain trains. High-tech products such as photovoltaic modules have become the mainstay of the export list, signaling a clear shift from labor-intensive products to goods that reflect China's manufacturing upgrade.

In late June, two China-Europe freight trains carrying 110 containers loaded with 260 elevators departed from Shenyang, Liaoning province, marking the launch of the northeastern city's first dedicated rail service for exporting domestically manufactured elevators to the European market.