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吉尔吉斯斯坦前总理卓奥玛尔特·奥托尔巴耶夫12月2日在《中国日报》撰文称，自2013年启动以来，“一带一路”倡议为亚欧大陆铁路货运量的大幅增长作出巨大贡献，促进了贸易往来和经济发展。

中欧班列促进贸易往来

文章指出，中欧铁路货运不仅比航运更可靠、更快捷、更环保，而且更有利润空间。比如，通过铁路将一个40英尺集装箱从中国内地运往波兰的成本不到航运成本的一半。与此同时，货运列车到达目的地大约只需9天，而海运需要35天到40天。

今年1至9月份，中欧班列累计开行14689列，发送货物157.1万标箱，同比分别增长13%、11%。截至目前，中欧班列已通达欧洲25个国家的224个城市，连接11个亚洲国家超过100个城市。

归根结底，中欧货运量大幅增长主要得益于中国与欧盟的贸易蓬勃发展。2023年，中欧贸易总额高达7830亿美元。此外，中国是欧盟最大的货物贸易进口伙伴，占欧盟外进口总额的20.5%。

中欧班列推动中国内陆地区发展

文章进一步分析称，中欧班列运量持续强劲增长，推动了中国内陆地区的社会经济发展。十年前，沿海地区凭借便利的海港运输通道主导了对外贸易。如今，随着亚欧大陆桥的建成，内陆省份取得了长足发展，成为物流、贸易中心以及重要的制造业基地。

以陕西省西安市为例，自2013年中欧班列（西安）首开以来，往返西安的货运列车数量大幅增长。十年间，中欧班列（西安）开行量从46列发展到超过5300列。如今，中欧班列（西安）运行干线扩展至18条。国铁集团统计数据显示，今年1至6月，中欧班列（西安）开行达2372列，同比增长13.1%；发送箱25万标箱，同比增长10.4%。

新型高效的贸易往来为内陆地区创造了新商机，吸引了来自国内外的投资，促进了国际贸易，加速了经济发展。

文章最后强调，“一带一路”倡议为亚欧大陆铁路货运量的大幅增长作出巨大贡献。中国、古丝绸之路沿线国家和欧洲之间的货运量显著增加。随着这条贸易线路的进一步发展，中国将更加高效、顺畅地与中亚和欧洲国家进行贸易往来。

（英文原文刊发于《中国日报》智享汇栏目）

Rail traffic across the Eurasian continent has been proliferating this year. Cooperation between the countries along the route and significant improvements in both hard and soft transport infrastructure have contributed to this trend.

As a result, rail freight between China and Europe has become not only more reliable, faster and greener but also more cost-effective than shipping. By August this year, the cost of shipping a 40-foot container by train from the Chinese mainland to Poland was less than half the cost of shipping.

Besides, the freight train takes about nine days to reach the destination, compared with 35 to 40 days by sea.

The ongoing conflict in the Red Sea region has led to a 67 percent decline in shipping between China and Europe via the Suez Canal. Consequently, there has been a notable rise in sea freight rates, which is now higher than rail freight rates. For example, between January and mid-August this year, the cost of shipping a forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU) from Shanghai to Rotterdam increased by 78 percent, reaching $7,961, according to the Drewry World Container Composite Index.

In contrast, rail freight rates have remained relatively stable. By August, shipping rates between China and Europe were already 59 percent higher than the average rail freight rate, which held steady around $3,240 per FEU for most of 2024, according to the Eurasian Rail Alliance Index.

However, it is important to remember rail transport has a limited capacity compared with shipping. The average freight train from China to Europe typically carries about 150 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers per trip, while the large ocean liners operating on this route can hold up to 24,000 TEUs, which about 160 trains would be needed to carry.

From January to September, the volume of rail freight between China and Europe continued to rise, with the trains making 14,689 round trips, up 13 percent year-on-year. These trains transported 1.57 million TEU of goods, an increase of 11 percent year-on-year. During the first seven months of the year, more than 50 trains operated daily.

These freight trains connect 224 cities across 25 European countries, and more than 100 cities in 11 Asian countries. The increasing trade between China and the European Union has been the primary factor driving the growth of transport. In 2023, trade between these regions reached €739 billion ($783 billion) for imports and exports, accounting for 15 percent of total EU trade. This figure is close to the 17 percent for the US.

In comparison, in 2000, the share of the EU's trade with the US was about 24 percent of the total, while the share of trade with China was only 5 percent. It should also be noted that China has become the largest exporter to the EU, with a 20 percent share of the total. The US, incidentally, has a 14 percent share.

The rapid development of rail transport between China and Europe has significantly accelerated the socioeconomic development of China's inland regions. A decade ago, the more developed coastal areas dominated international and regional trade thanks to their easy access to seaports. However, with the establishment of the Eurasian railway bridge, the less economically developed inland provinces of China have experienced a substantial boost in their development. These provinces have become vital logistics and trading hubs, and strong manufacturing bases.

Take the city of Xi'an and the province of Shaanxi. Since the launch of the China-Europe rail route from Xi'an in 2013, the number of trains serving the city has grown significantly. In the first year, there were 46 trains; by 2023, that number had surged to more than 5,300. Today, Xi'an International Port Station operates 18 regular international routes that span the entire Eurasian continent. According to China Railway, 2,372 trains passed through the Xi'an route from January to June this year, transporting 250,000 TEUs. These figures represent increases of 13.1 percent and 10.4 percent respectively compared to the previous year.

This year's customs data show that Shaanxi, Zhejiang and Jiangsu were the leading exporter-provinces through the China-Europe freight trains, while Shaanxi, Liaoning, and Fujian were the top importer provinces. In previous years, the eastern coastal provinces typically occupied the top 10 positions on the list of highest exporter-importer provinces, with Shaanxi ranking seventh or eighth.

Many of China's inland cities and provinces have experienced a similar transformation. New and efficient trade links have created new business opportunities in China's landlocked regions, attracting both domestic and foreign investment, promoting international trade, and expediting economic development. Additionally, the creation of millions of new jobs in the inland regions has increased the flow of migrant workers from the eastern and southeastern regions to the western and northwestern regions.

The relocation of numerous industrial companies to landlocked provinces has proven beneficial due to lower capital costs and wages, which in turn has enhanced their competitiveness. Additionally, the development of railways has enabled these companies to reduce transit time and deliver goods directly to their customers in Europe.

The Belt and Road Initiative, launched in 2013, has greatly contributed to the massive increase in rail freight across the Eurasian continent. Cross-continental freight between China, countries along the ancient Silk Road and Europe has increased substantially. And the further development of this route will enable rapidly growing China to effectively and smoothly trade with countries in Central Asia and Europe, and sharpen its competitiveness.