Chongqing, China Builds A Western International Logistics Hub

Chongqing, China builds a western international logistics hub

 

Chongqing is a large city in southwestern China with a population of 32 million, and freight trains roar through the hot air here. With the help of a giant red crane weighing 40 tons, loading containers only takes 55 minutes.

 

The items inside the container come from various parts of China, including electric vehicles, personal computers, smartphones, etc. After crossing Xinjiang, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Poland in China, this train will arrive in Duisburg, Germany in about two weeks. This journey takes one-third of the time by sea.

 

The China Europe freight train started operating in 2011, aiming to support cities in industrial provinces of mainland China such as Chongqing, which do not have direct access to the sea, making exports difficult.

 

At that time, choosing Chongqing as the starting station for the train was not accidental. Chongqing has a superior geographical location, located in central and western China, adjacent to the Yangtze River, and can be quickly connected to Wuhan and Shanghai by boat. This is still an industrial base, producing 2.5 million cars, tens of millions of personal computers and smartphones by 2024, making it the world's capital of electronic products.

 

Automakers hoping to export electric vehicles to the European Union are increasingly using this channel. In 2023, the China Europe freight train (Chengdu Chongqing) carried 430000 containers, and the number of bi-directional trains increased to 5300.

 

An employee at the Chongqing International Logistics Hub Park (the starting station for China Europe freight trains and the Western Land Sea New Corridor rail sea intermodal trains) said, "In Chongqing, all modes of transportation can be mobilized: railway, highway, waterway, or air. This is very rare in China

Now, local officials in Chongqing have entered a "combat" state, hoping that Chongqing can become an open hub connecting the world.

 

In fact, from north to south and from east to west, the number of projects continues to increase. To the east, by 2030, a new high-speed train will connect Chongqing and Shanghai in just over 5 hours, reducing travel time by half. To the south, the authorities also hope to connect the China Europe freight train with the "International Land Sea Corridor". The Western Land Sea New Corridor project was launched in 2019. The project will first connect Chongqing with Southeast Asian countries by train and then by ship. In this way, tropical fruits from Thailand can reach Europe in just 20 days.

 

At the same time, as China turns to Southeast Asia to sell electric vehicles and other goods, this "international channel" is experiencing strong growth.

 

At Chongqing's waterless port, a large cargo storage and transportation hub, dozens of newly produced white electric vehicles from local manufacturer Changan Automobile are sunbathing in the parking lot before being transported to Thailand.

 

On average, it can save 10 to 15 days of time. Previously, goods had to be transported to Shanghai via the Yangtze River and then shipped to South Asia by sea. The direct train from Chongqing saved time, "said Liu Yizhen, Deputy General Manager of Land Sea New Channel Operation Co., Ltd.