How many trains do China Europe trains arrive in Europe every week?

     War, sanctions and inflation are affecting the trade between Duisburg and China. On the New Silk Road, how will the international rail freight connection between China and Germany, especially Duisburg, develop in the future? On Wednesday, about 300 people from the logistics industry attended the "European Silk Road Summit" held in Duisburg. Du Chunguo, Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Dusseldorf, also attended the event.

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Dr. Carsten Hinne of Duisburg Port Group and Du Chunguo, Consul General of China in Dusseldorf (source: Funke Foto Service)

    Dr. Carsten Hinne, a member of the board of directors of Duisport Hafen AG, said at the meeting: "Despite various challenges, we still strive to maintain the stability of the international supply chain network." The West German Report (WAZ) wrote: "The challenges and difficulties he mentioned refer to the interference of the Ukrainian war, EU sanctions against Russia and China's zero clearance and epidemic prevention policy on the international supply chain."

    How did the local media report the event? The article wrote: "The consequences of multiple crises such as war, sanctions and inflation have already affected Duisburg. At the beginning of the outbreak, as many as 60 China Europe trains arrived in Duisburg every week, but now the number has almost halved."

    Jakub Walczak, who is in charge of Poland's railway transportation business by American international freight forwarding company C. H Robinson, said that there is no sign of recovery in this situation in the short term. He said: "We look forward to changes brought about by changes in China's epidemic prevention policy, but war and sanctions will still be risks." Compared with the peak in 2021, he predicted that the freight volume of China Europe trains between China and Germany would be halved this year.

    Jakub Walczak gave such a forecast based on a number of industry indicators. Since the outbreak of the Russian Ukrainian war, various container indexes have been declining, and container freight rates have also been declining; Inflation and interest rates in Eastern Europe have been rising, which has put pressure on railway freight business; In addition, the weakness of the euro exchange rate has also brought about corresponding results. The business in Europe and China is often settled in dollars.

    Jakub Walczak said: "The situation may return to normal as early as 2024."

    In addition, at this meeting, industry representatives believed that the alternative solutions for trans Siberian lines were still inefficient and uncompetitive.

   The German media wrote: "There is no feasible alternative plan for the transit route through Russia." It is reported that Duisburg Port Group was involved in the construction of the plan to bypass Russia long before the war began, such as investing in railway stations in Istanbul, Türkiye and Triest, Italy. Dr. Carsten Hinne, a member of the group's board of directors, said: "We try to invest in the existing transport network."

   The article of the West German Daily wrote: "The route of China Uzbekistan Kazakhstan Azerbaijan Türkiye not only needs to cross the Caspian Sea for maritime transit, but also needs technical upgrading. It will take at least a few years before this route can become a good alternative."

    Further south, the route from China to India and Pakistan can also lead to Europe, but (the risk is) it needs to pass through Iran. For representatives of the logistics industry, this route will not become an option until the 2030's."

    Du Chunguo, Consul General of China in Dusseldorf, stressed at the meeting that despite the risks, China hopes to open a new chapter in the international railway freight transport of China EU trains. China hopes to expand mutually beneficial relations so that all partner countries along the the Belt and Road can benefit from them.

    The Consul General mentioned the first domestic and overseas China Europe Express in November, which departed from Xi'an and finally arrived in Duisburg in 10 days. He believes that the successful operation of this train can bring new development impetus to the industry.

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Welcome Ceremony for the Arrival of the First China EU Train in November (source: duisport)

    Zhang Wen, General Manager of China Railway Container Europe Logistics Co., Ltd., said at the meeting that the construction and development of China Europe train corridor must aim at "more efficient and faster time efficiency". Compared with sea transportation and air transportation, railway has lower carbon emissions. In the long run, this feature is conducive to the development of railways and China Europe trains.

    At the end of the German media report, Data are listed to prove the above point: "In 2011, there were only 17 China EU trains running along the New Silk Road, but by 2021, 15,000 China EU trains will have been running on the railway network connecting 169 cities in 23 countries." However, a sentence is added later: "However, compared with sea transportation, the number is still very low. Last year, the standard containers (TEU) transported by China EU trains every month For the first time, there are more than 24000, which is equivalent to the one-time loading capacity of the largest container ship in the world. "

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