A new freight train route linking Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province in northern China, with Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, was launched last Thursday. The service, which is the first direct freight train connection between the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in China and Serbia, highlights the expanding logistics network under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The journey, covering approximately 10,200 kilometers, will take around 20 days, beginning at the Shijiazhuang International Land Port. The route traverses through the Alashankou Port in Xinjiang before going to Serbia. Gao Xiang, a manager at Hebei International Land Port Co., Ltd highlighted the strategic importance of this new service in fostering closer economic ties between China and Serbia, as well as other countries participating in the BRI.
The inaugural train carried 110 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo valued at approximately 20 million yuan (approximately €2.56 million) and was loaded with auto parts and mechanical equipment. The initiatives aim to open up avenues for economic and trade exchanges between the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and Central and Eastern Europe.
The launch of the China-Serbia freight train service reinforces China's commitment to building efficient trade corridors between Asia and Europe. This route is expected to help streamline the movement of goods between these regions and promote infrastructure development and economic cooperation across continents.
