Staff members at Pingxiang Customs inspect the China-Europe freight train running between Linyi and Hanoi. [Photo by Sun Liping/chinanews.com]

The first China-Europe freight train from Zhubao Station in Shandong's Linyi to Hanoi, capital of Vietnam - a route which passes through Pingxiang Railway Port in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region - successfully began operations on Jan 8.

The number of China-Europe freight trains heading to Vietnam via Pingxiang Railway Port has been increased to seven.

Sun Liping, a staff member from Pingxiang Customs, said that the China-Europe freight trains taking the new route will travel 3,000 kilometers from Linyi to Hanoi. The first train was loaded with 17,659 glass bottles in 41 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) with an overall value of around 2.66 million yuan ($410,607.1).

The 41 TEUs were divided into three batches after crossing the Vietnamese border, due to limits in Vietnamese railway handling capacity.

Sun said that the China-Europe freight train from Linyi to Hanoi will become a new route for cargo being exported to Southeast Asian markets along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. In addition, its operation will further advance cooperation in trade and the economy between China and the Indo-China Peninsula, make the railway logistics channel connecting the Chinese mainland and ASEAN countries smoother and clearer, and help stabilize global supply chains.

A total of 384 China-Europe freight trains were operated in 2020 under Pingxiang Customs, and 237 of them were used for imported cargo.